How Lovely the Lightning and Earth
by Somber Secrets
Summary: Like lightning being drawn to earth, Kakashi and Sakura are drawn to each other as teammates, comrades, friends, and lovers. KakaSaku. A Love-Story Told in Three Acts. Fluffy-fluff. Rated M for future content.
1. Act I, Scene I

It has been a long time since I've written any fanfiction... and even longer since I've written KakaSaku, but here I am, still sailing with this ship. So let's get this show on the road!

But first, some notes:

This takes place after the Fourth War... most of the things still happen as cannon... just not you know... the whole SasuSaku bit... cause honestly.

This story... is pure fluff. Not the place to go if you want angst.

* * *

 **Act I, Scene I:**

Sakura twisted her right foot, pressing the toes into the ground as she roamed her eyes across the expanse of Konoha that could be seen from the Hokage's office. The open window let in a light breeze and she sucked in a huff of fresh air to keep her impatience in check. Her medical coat fluttered around her, basically a part of her uniform now; she was often in the hospital and so forth rarely without it. "You know he's going to be late Naruto," Sakura finally breathed as she centered her gaze on the man sitting behind the Hokage's desk, idly writing notes on a mission report that he must have received only that morning.

Naruto set his pen down slowly as he leaned forward on his desk and rested his chin on his knuckles, an unimpressed frown on his face as he stared at the empty spot beside where Sakura was standing. "I even told him to be here an hour earlier."

"Can't you just tell me what I'm doing here? I need to get back to the hospital. I have a couple operations scheduled and some paperwork that I need to complete," Sakura sighed as she edged her gaze out the window again and to the tall white building that was situated only a couple blocks closer to the entrance of the village.

"The place isn't going to fall apart without you Sakura-chan," Naruto chuckled as he leaned back in his chair, "God knows that the medics and nurses in that building fear your wrath enough from afar."

"Well I like being there," Sakura muttered as she rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

"Oh, I know that all too well," Naruto chuckled again, "Do you ever take any time off?"

"I'm not there 24 hours a day."

"That really wasn't the answer that I was looking for Sakura-chan."

"Do you ever take any time off Hokage-sama?" Sakura replied with a raise of an eyebrow and a challenge in her voice.

"Mou, Sakura-chan, you know how much I hate it when you call me that."

"It's who you are," Sakura said in reply, a small smile spreading on her face despite herself.

"Yes, well, you're the one who keeps me grounded to the earth when my head gets over inflated," Naruto laughed as he leaned back on his chair and threw his feet onto the desk.

"Hmph," muttered a deep voice to Sakura's right. Sakura turned her green eyes towards Sasuke who looked infinitely more tired than he had years before, mostly from dealing with Naruto's shenanigans on a daily basis. Sakura laughed lightly but whole-heartedly under her breath as Sasuke glowered at her with no serious consequence. Everyone and their father knew that, as the Hokage's assistant, Sasuke had to ground Naruto the most. Usually Sakura would only have to step in when both of them got out of control, only causing the other to rise higher, and then she would send them crashing back down to earth. It was a monthly occurrence.

"Can't you just tell me what you want and he'll show up when he shows up?" Sakura murmured between giggles. Sasuke shook his head but his frown was no longer a frown.

Naruto sighed as he clasped his hands behind his neck and leaned further back in his chair, taking his gaze up to the ceiling, "You've always had an uncanny knack for finding him, how about you retrieve him?"

Sakura could feel the fire of annoyance burning in her stomach and her fist clench, ready to send Naruto flying to the other side of the village, Hokage or not. Her primary role for the last couple of years might have been the Director of the hospital but that in no way meant that she was out of taijutsu practice. Apparently Sasuke sensed the imminent danger before Naruto, for he gave a light cough and Naruto suddenly shot up and sat up straight again and looked at her nervously, "I mean, Sakura-chan," Naruto placated as he eyed her clenched fist nervously, "You're closer to Kakashi than any of us and since we're all tired of waiting for him, maybe it would be a good idea for you to deliver the message to him… on your own time… but still maybe tonight?"

Sakura sighed as her fist unclenched and she gave Naruto a light glare before it dissolved. She took a couple steps forward, her shoes clacking on the ground before she leaned heavily on his desk, facing away from him with crossed arms. "What are you scheming Naruto? I can tell you're up to something and you haven't once used the word mission, so…"

"Mou, Sakura-chan. How could you think so deviously of me? I mean…" Sakura turned to give him a hard glare before she turned around to give Sasuke an exasperated look, one he returned.

"He just thinks that you and Kakashi need a vacation," Sasuke said evenly.

Sakura's eyebrow shot into her hairline, "I need a vacation? What about you two?"

Naruto twitched and stood up to go to the other side of Sakura and stood beside Sasuke's desk, running his finger nervously on the hard wood edge. "We were hoping that when you guys got back from your vacation… Kakashi wouldn't mind uh… taking the position of acting Hokage and you as his assistant again so that Sasuke and I could you know… go have some fun."

"Go on an unranked mission," Sakura muttered deadpanned.

Suddenly Naruto was in front of her face with wide blue eyes and his hands clasped in front of his mouth. Interestingly enough her hands were within his without her having felt him grabbing them as his puppy eyes bore down at her on full force, "A really cool one! It just came in Sakura-chan and it's supposed to start in a week and take about two weeks to a month and I know this is asking a lot of both you and Kakashi, especially since Kakashi hated being Hokage with a burning fiery passion, but I was really hoping that as old friends that he and you would be willing to –"

Sakura laughed at his excited sputtering as she leaned forward and placed her forehead on his tall shoulder, thinking of when he used to be shorter than her all those years ago, and took one palm out from his grasp so that she could hold on to him like he was holding on to her, "Shh, shh Naruto. I would be happy to take Sasuke's place for a month. I'll see if the Rokudaime wouldn't mind taking up the mantle again for just a little while. Kakashi-senpai is immensely enjoying his freedom from paper work."

"Thank you so much Sakura-chan," Naruto breathed as he turned his head to bury his face into her hair. His white Hokage cloak fluttered around the both of them. Sakura smiled deeply at the way that the cloak fit him so well, looked so perfect on his tall frame, but she supposed that even a Hokage needed to return to the field sometimes.

"I'll find him tonight. This better be all expenses paid. You know how cheap Kakashi-senpai can be," Sakura murmured as she lifted her head and Naruto brought his face away from her hair.

Naruto grinned at her as he let go of her hands and rounded back around to the desk that she was leaning on. He rifled through one of the drawers and took out a scroll, "All of the details are in here."

Sakura turned around and reached out to take the scroll from his hands and slipped it into one of the pockets of her medical jacket, "Thanks."

"No, thank you. I wouldn't trust Konoha to anyone more than you two," Naruto grinned as he ran his hand through his golden hair. "Sasuke-teme, guess we're a go."

Sasuke scoffed, "You do realize it's more important that Kakashi agree to this."

"Yeah, but Kakashi always listens to Sakura-chan," Naruto chirped as he brought a fist up to pump it.

Sakura laughed while shaking her head, "I'll do my best to convince him."

"Thank you," Naruto repeated a bright smile on his face.

"Can I go now?" Sakura asked as she turned her eyes toward the hospital again.

Naruto rolled his eyes a bit, "Yeah. But remember to ask Kakashi tonight!"

Sakura waved him off, "I will. I will." And with a gentle swish of her cloak Sakura turned to the door of the Hokage's office and walked out, grazing her fingers on Sasuke's desk as a way of greeting before she pushed the door open and disappeared down the hall.

Sasuke stood up from his desk and joined Naruto by the window as they watched the pink haired medic rush down the street and back to her hospital. "Two birds with one stone," Sasuke muttered, "Can't believe that worked dobe."

"That's because I'm fucking clever teme," Naruto laughed, "It was really the only way to get her out of the hospital and I don't think Kakashi has ever taken a vacation. They'll have fun together and maybe make the other relax while they're at it."

Sasuke simply shrugged in response. Their eyes met before they rushed to the Hokage's desk together to go through the unranked mission scroll they had been given. "Ah," Naruto bristled excitedly, "It's been too long!"

"Hm," Sasuke agreed as he ran his hand down the side of the pristine parchment.

* * *

Sakura's shoulders ached as she stretched them on her walk from the hospital. The break that she had been forced to take at the Hokage tower had been nice, especially since she got to see her friends, but for her, the hospital was home and it had been good to return home.

She had informed the medics and the nurses of her imminent absence, all of them looking at her as though it was about time, and many had assured her that the building would not fall apart in her absence. Sakura laughed a little bit under her breath wondering if she should re-evaluate how she spent her time if everyone felt this way about her. But her spending all of her time in hospital was no different from those shinobi who spent all of their time out on the field; so really, the fact that she didn't sleep in her office was good enough.

But she did have to admit to herself that it would be nice to take a vacation, especially with her old friend.

Sakura's shoes scraped over the ground as she made her way to his apartment, a track that she had taken many times before after work. She made her way up the stairs to the third floor and, without the preamble of a knock, Sakura merely turned the door knob and let herself in.

As usual, after returning from a mission, his entry way was a mess of scattered objects, mud, and a half opened field pack. Sakura laughed quietly as she slipped off her shoes and made her way to the bedroom. Peaking in she smiled softly to herself at the quietly snoring man lying prone on his bed in only his boxers and mask; Pakkun curled up closely to his side. She had tended to him the night before, a ritual for when he returned from missions and it seemed like he hadn't moved ever since.

Sakura pulled away from the bedroom door, letting the man sleep for just a little longer as she ambled into the kitchen and turned on the teakettle. As the water warmed and then boiled, Sakura pulled out two mugs from his cabinet and dropped a tea bag in each. She peeked into his fridge, seeing that the groceries she had bought for him the previous evening were still neatly placed inside and pulled out a couple ingredients to make a simple dinner.

With the teakettle off, rice prepping in his rice cooker, and food cooking on the stove, Sakura walked with her steaming cup of tea to Kakashi's couch, pulled off her jacket, and sat down in the middle with her toes curled underneath her. Within moments a small pug ambled out of his bedroom, probably having just wrestled himself out of the sheets and easily joined her on the couch.

Pakkun immediately curled up in her warmth as clouds of smoke appeared all around her as Kakashi's other seven ninken summoned themselves and piled onto the couch with her. Bull placed himself in the empty space between Sakura and the armrest, a tradition that had been establish since the first time Sakura had been maneuvered out of the way, and Sakura leaned on the big dog, finding her comfort in his rumbling breaths.

Sakura giggled gently at all of the snouts that nuzzled her gently for pets as she took a sip of her tea. The dogs were content with the intruder in their home.

As the food sizzled and crackled on the stove, Sakura heard shuffling in the other room and soon enough the man himself appeared in the leaving room, loose, black jonin pants now on, and his mask pulled down around his neck. Without acknowledging her presence, Kakashi walked into the kitchen like a zombie and picked up his mug of tea. Taking a sip, a loud sigh of relief shook through his body as he stirred the contents of the pan and pulled out two bowls and a plate.

Loading the bowls with rice, Kakashi then poured the meal in the pan onto the plate and aptly juggled the dinner to the coffee table in the living room, "Thanks again Sakura," he sighed as he shifted Akino and Uhei so that he would be able to sit down, their heads reoccupying the space by lying on his lap.

Sakura smiled against her mug as Kakashi scratched his chin, the visible stubble causing feelings of itch, and began to eat his dinner. "You're welcome Kakashi-senpai," Sakura chirped as she leaned forward to set her mug down on the table and start on dinner herself. "You forgot about your meeting with Naruto today."

"He should know better than to request a meeting with me the day after I return from a mission," Kakashi muttered between bites of hot slices of vegetables and meat.

"I suppose not everyone has his energy," Sakura quipped with a laugh.

Kakashi simply brought his eyes to the ceiling in grievance before he continued eating his supper. "I suppose you've been sent to be the messenger then? Sorry, I mean… I would've eventually gotten there."

Sakura merely waved her chopsticks in the air, "It was no problem. I was also asked to be there as well."

Kakashi simply raised an eyebrow at this, "It's been a while since we've both been asked to go out on a mission together, what kind of tensions are rising?"

Sakura waved her chopsticks again, "No tensions…" Sakura thought back to the unranked mission that Naruto and Sasuke had been so excited about, "As far as I know. Definitely not something diplomatic if Naruto and Sasuke-kun want to go out and about themselves."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he finished his bowl of rice. "They want to go out on a mission? Oh…"

"I know you hated it, but they need a break sometimes," Sakura laughed as she stood up to the chorus of whines from the ninken around her and grabbed Kakashi's bowl to go refill it with a second helping of rice.

Kakashi groaned into his hands, landing his elbows onto his knees as he remembered the mountains of paperwork that had once been his whole entire life. It really was something that he didn't want to relive. "Can't Naruto just leave a bunshin in his place or something?"

"You know it would drive you insane if a part of your mind was on paperwork while you were out on the field," Sakura replied as she popped open the rice cooker, "Naruto might be something else, but he isn't capable of ignoring that."

"Please tell me that you're the one replacing Sasuke at least."

"Yep! It'll be the return of Copy-Nin Kakashi and Tsunade Nigou Sakura, Konoha beware!" Sakura laughed as she scooped another huge helping of rice into each of their bowls.

"When?"

"A week from now."

"So we have a week to go missing?" Kakashi suggested playfully as he leaned back on the couch and pat Guruko and Bisuke on the head, of whom were resting on the back of the couch, paws hanging on either side and tongues hanging out in bliss.

"Actually we have a week of vacation," Sakura murmured as she placed the bowls back down on the coffee table and pulled out the scroll Naruto had given her from the lab jacket that was thrown over the couch armrest. Sakura passed the scroll to Kakashi who unrolled it with practiced hands and stared at its contents as Sakura continued to dig through her dinner flicking rice and meat every so often to Urushi and Shiba.

Kakashi hummed a little under his breath as he set the scroll down on the table, "Stop spoiling them Sakura, no wonder they beg at me all the time now. At least Naruto seems to understand that he is asking a lot out of us," Kakashi chuckled and resumed his dinner, "Still cheap as always though."

"Pot calling the kettle black. What do you mean though?" Sakura asked with creased eyebrows as she eyed the scroll wondering what Kakashi was getting at, "Where is he sending us on vacation?"

"An island in the south of Water, Alicante" Kakashi said casually, "One of those all expenses paid resorts that have taken over a whole island with the huts out in the ocean, luxurious sands just a swim away and amenities up to our eyeballs."

"That sounds anything but cheap, from what Ino have told me, those resorts are huge and the huts are actually really nice," Sakura recalled.

"Yeah well he only got one for the both of us."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Of course he did. I'm sure that after all those missions Naruto is convinced that it's normal to stuff four people into a tiny hotel room."

"Practically spoiled we are then," Kakashi replied drolly.

They looked at each other from the corner of their eyes and laughed until their bellies ached, "Hopefully there's enough room for the ninken too." A series of yips, barks, and howls chorused in agreement.

* * *

I hope you like it! Please review :D Reviews are life blood.


	2. Act I, Scene II

As a general warning, these chapter sizes are going to be extremely inconsistent... like they could be as long as this one... or very short. You'll see.

Tropes? Tropes are the best because you can play with them! :D Also tropes tend to breed fluff... and fluff I am breeding. Thank you to all of the positive feedback from Scene 1!

Contemplating putting a Song of the Scene section here... mainly because I've just listened to this new song that I think is too cute for KakaSaku. But I don't know if I'll be able to come up with enough for all of the planned chapters for the story. Ah... we shall see.

Now on with the show!

* * *

 **Act I, Scene II:**

Sakura had long learnt that if she wanted Kakashi to be on time, she would have to make him be on time. So instead of waiting at the gates of Konoha the next morning as they had agreed to do, she once again barged into his apartment. She found Kakashi stuffing a piece of toast in his mouth not the least bit surprised by her entrance. He promptly shoved the last corner between his teeth. "You ready?" Sakura chirped sweetly giving him a smile she had learnt from him.

Kakashi simply nodded to a packed back by the now clean entryway before he stood up and pulled his flack jacket on. "Nuh uh!" Sakura chimed as she sat her bag down on the floor and marched over to him, "We're not shinobi, we are people on vacation. Put that down and grab something less… less shinobi-y," Sakura finished lamely.

Kakashi merely eyed her bag for a moment before he turned both of his dark eyes back up to her glowing green ones, "I'm going to guess that you have two medical research scrolls in there, tucked into the hidden back pocket that you think is a well kept secret." He pulled on his flack jacket as though he had never been interrupted in the first place.

Sakura pouted with crossed arms, "Heaven knows that you're going to be bringing your own reading material, and at the very least mine is more tasteful."

"And boring," Kakashi replied with a smile as he tapped the pouch attached to his hip containing two volumes of the Icha Icha series.

Sakura gave in and wandered in his kitchen, "Can I have a drink of water before we go?"

Kakashi simply nodded as he pulled a glass out of one of the cupboards and filled it with water from the tap. Sakura appeared at his side easily and took the glass out of his hands, their arms brushing, and easy smiles on their faces. "Did you remember to pack everything?"

"I hope so," Sakura shrugged.

"It's been a long time since you've left Konoha Sakura."

"My last mission was with you wasn't it? Several months ago."

Kakashi snorted in amusement, "It was. And you forgot literally everything of importance."

"I didn't forget the chakra that healed your sorry ass now did I," Sakura teased back as she finished her water and placed the glass in the sink. Kakashi chuckled and raised his hand to ruffle her hair. Sakura pouted for only a second before a laugh burst from her lips and she pranced back to her bag and picked it off the floor, once again ready to go.

Kakashi already had his pack in hand and his mask back up over his face as they walked out the door and he turned to lock it. They strolled together to the gates of Konoha making idle chatter about what their vacation was going to be like, but were promptly interrupted by a boisterous shout. "YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura raised an eyebrow as Kakashi shook his head. Both Naruto and Sasuke were waiting at the entrance for them but only Naruto was waving his hands as though they wouldn't notice the current Hokage standing in the middle of the street. "You know, normal people aren't late for their vacations and Sakura-chan, you really shouldn't let Kakashi influence you like this," Naruto chastised as soon as he was sure that he had gotten both of their attentions.

Sakura shrugged as she stopped in front of him, "I was on time at his place."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Of course you were."

"What are you two even doing here?" Sakura asked as she shifted her eyes between the duo.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, "I just wanted to make sure that Kakashi was okay with…"

Kakashi merely raised a hand and waved it with nonchalance, "One month. You have exactly one month at most and then I'll leave the country without a Kage."

Naruto seemed to let out a sigh of relief, knowing that Kakashi's ultimatum was hollow, before he nodded excitedly, "Thank you so much Kakashi! I hope you guys have a good time. I did a lot of research on where I thought you guys should go and it sounds like a hell of a place. I kind of want to go myself now," Naruto rambled. Sasuke quickly put a hand over the blonde's mouth and Naruto abruptly stopped his chattering. Sasuke lowered his hand and nodded at the bemused Kakashi and Sakura.

"If Tsunade and Shizune drop by while I'm gone-" Sakura quipped.

Naruto laughed, "Don't worry. If the old hag suddenly decides to drop by with no notice for some reason or the other, I will tell them that you are running the hospital like a war sergeant and that she doesn't have to worry about the state of the medical system in Konoha. I'm sure she'll be pleased to know that you can make the new medics cry with just a lift of your finger."

Sakura rolled her eyes as she stepped forward and enveloped Naruto in a tight hug. His arms wrapped back around her instantly and he took the moment to lift her off the ground and twirl her in the air. "Naruto! Yeesh!" Sakura exclaimed in bouts of laughter before she was set back down on the ground again. It was a habit that he had developed some time after the war and she had not managed to make him kick it.

Her hair was in complete disarray and she brought her hands up to fix the pink strands. Naruto's hands were still on her shoulders as he grinned at her, "Thank you so much Sakura-chan."

"Of course," Sakura murmured as she twisted a pink lock in her fingers, " If anything I should be thanking you. As the Hokage you really could have just ordered us to take your spot—"

"If I wanted to be launched out of the Hokage tower and then jutsued to death…"

"The trip sounds like it's going to be fun anyways, right Kakashi-senpai?"

Kakashi simply shrugged but there wasn't a thing about his countenance that indicated that the holiday was at all unwelcome. Naruto did have it right after all that if he didn't bribe them there wouldn't have been a tad more resistance, but Sakura was also right in the way that the vacation was a courtesy rather than a requisite. This way he was going to be able to spend a lot of time with Sakura, what with their schedules the way they were, having even a single full day with her out of work was a rare occurrence. He nodded at Sasuke who simply nodded back to him before Sasuke approached Sakura and quickly picked Naruto's hands off of her shoulders. Naruto maturely stuck his tongue out at his ebony haired friend. Quickly and awkwardly, Sasuke gave her a one armed hug in appreciation before he let go and stepped back. "We'll see you in a week," he said contritely.

Sakura nodded at him, "See you in a week Sasuke-kun, Naruto," before Kakashi joined her at her side and they walked out of the gates and towards the port in Fire where their booked ship sailing to the Land of Water was waiting for them.

Naruto leaned over to Sasuke as they disappeared over the horizon, "Have any idea why she still calls him senpai?" At Sasuke's look Naruto gasped and slapped his hands onto his cheeks, "Naughty thoughts teme!" The Nanadaime Hokage was promptly whacked over the head.

* * *

The journey to the port would take about one and a half days with a chakra infused run through the trees, but Kakashi and Sakura easily made a game out of the journey as they raced each other across the canopy. Sakura had whirled through the leaves with the excitement of a five-year-old child, as it had been several months since she had gone on that mission with Kakashi, and had felt the dew sprinkling across her face as she flew through the air. Kakashi, although a lot less excitable, was taking the competition seriously as he raced through the thicket with the pink haired kunoichi falling and gaining on him depending on whether or not she chose the efficient path or fun path forward. When they had finally stopped for the night between labored breaths and a non-consensus on who had made it to their arbitrary campsite first, Kakashi had been the one to offer to build the fire.

And as Kakashi had predicted, Sakura had completely forgotten to pack a bedroll. "We have a bed waiting for us at the resort! Excuse me if I forgot that we'd have to sleep as we travel!" Sakura pouted as she jammed a stick containing a skewered fish on it beside the fire.

Kakashi merely laughed under his breath at her as he pulled his mask away from his face and rose onto his feet and stretched to the sky popping his vertebrae, "You know that Sasuke can't catch everything and Naruto doesn't think about these kind of things."

"Neither do I apparently," Sakura muttered with a frown, "We should make the agreement only three weeks maximum considering Naruto didn't think of accommodations and meals for between Konoha and Alicante."

"Don't be so easy on him Sakura, make it two weeks at most," Kakashi teased as he kneeled back down again and adjusted the other skewers of fish that Sakura had stabbed into the ground, the orange glow of the fire light washing across his face and reflecting off of his hair. "This is nice anyways."

Sakura looked up at Kakashi with a smile on her face as she poked at the fire absently. "Yeah this is nice."

They had spent the night sitting on his one bedroll talking over the crackling fire about Kakashi's latest mission and Sakura's latest patients, him included, while also catching short naps beside the fire's glow with the stars twinkling behind the rustling leaves overhead.

They were both tired when they reached the harbor in the early afternoon the next day, but not exhausted and it didn't take them long to find the ferry that would take them to the southern islands. Sakura stared across the sea at the large islands of the north of Water and shivered, "Can't believe how much their climate changes as you head down south. I would not want to vacation over there."

"It is a bit chilly," Kakashi replied evenly as they both watched the mist hover over the land in the far off distance, obscuring Kiri.

"How are your injuries today?" Sakura asked as she grabbed the straps of her bag on her shoulders and headed toward where the ferry was slowly loading its passengers. "Sorry that you ended up sleeping against a tree, that probably didn't help your recovery in the slightest."

Kakashi rolled his shoulders and poked at his abdomen under his flack jacket experimentally before he gave her a smile with a crinkled eye. "Seems that you've done an exquisite job yet again Sakura."

Sakura giggled at his antics as they joined the line up of people. "I am the best aren't I," Sakura bragged as she flashed Kakashi an award winning smile. He simply shook his head at her and patted her on the shoulder as she continued to giggle.

They boarded the ferry soon after and Sakura pressed herself to the side of the medium sized vessel as it pulled out of the port and slowly away from the harbor. Away from the dreary fog of the northern islands the skies were completely blue and cloudless. The sun was beating down on them making the back of Sakura's neck slowly burn a light pink, foreshadowing what the vacation was going to do to her complexion. Gulls were flying in large lazy circles overhead as the boat left behind a trail of waves and white foam, leading them back to home.

Kakashi took a spot by Sakura's side as they watched the mainland become smaller in the distance and the coast change as they went further south, but it never went out of view. "I don't think I've ever been to Alicante," Kakashi murmured, "Heard a lot about it from Gai. He says that it is very invigorating and youthful, but where isn't for the man. Been to some of the other islands near by though, not quite the same when you're trying to assassinate someone though."

"I hope Naruto didn't choose the cheapest one then," Sakura laughed as she grabbed onto Kakashi's arm for leverage and leaned over the edge of the boat, her hair dampening ever so slightly from the sea spray.

Kakashi simply rested his other elbow on the ship's railing, letting Sakura use his arm for stabilization even though they both knew that she would be able to easily catch herself if she did somehow manage tip overboard. They had been comfortable with each other's touch since the Fourth War when their need to rely on each other while Naruto and Sasuke had done their own thing had brought them closer than either of them had ever thought they would be. It was comfortable and it was caring, the relationship that they had continued to nurture since that time. To each other, they were now the person the other could rely on the most.

The boat hit a wave causing the ship to bounce and send water flying high into the air, splashing Sakura in the face as Kakashi inched to move behind her and away from most of the spray. "Oh, it's salty," Sakura winced as she stuck out her tongue and let go of his arm to wipe the rest of the liquid out of her eyes.

Kakashi simply laughed at her misfortune as she punched him in the arm in retaliation also contemplating the consequences of throwing him into the sea. Before Sakura could toss the man overboard the speakers on the boat boomed to life, "We will be arriving in Alicante in ten minutes. If you take a look ahead, you will see the beautiful white beaches and the main portion of the Alicante resort spanning the right side of the island."

Sakura's mouth dropped open and she was sure that Kakashi's had too underneath his mask at the sight that befell them. Naruto. Had. Not. Been. Cheap. Kakashi hummed in appreciation, thinking that if this was going to be the compensation for some time as acting Hokage, that maybe he would do it more often, but only if Sakura was going to be his assistant. There was no need to revisit the era of Shikamaru and Kakashi avoiding paperwork in an office tower together. Procrastination was not the key.

The dark blue of the deep ocean shifted to a clear cerulean as they neared closer to the port of Alicante and Sakura marveled at the visibility of the water below her. She could see the ocean floor almost forty meters down. Between the boat and the sand were schools of fish and large shapes of animals that Sakura hoped she would see again while staying at the resort.

The cerulean changed to a vibrant green as the water became much shallower and the sand underneath began to bloom with sea grass. Soon enough the passengers on the ship were ushered onto smaller speed boats that would take them to the reception on the island.

Sakura marveled at the sun reflecting off the water surface and into Kakashi's hair as the speed boat bumped along the small waves and brought them to a stone path that cut through the sandy beach. "Have a wonderful stay in Alicante," their captain shouted before he turned around to grab passengers that had requested more time to disembark.

Sakura clenched her bag close to her as they strolled side by side with other passengers from their speed boat up the stone path to an open air reception where several resort workers were checking in a few guests that had arrived on faster speed boats. It wasn't long before Kakashi and Sakura were called up and when they presented the scroll to the young lady at the counter her eyes lit up in recognition. "You're the Hokage's guests, oh how wonderful," she chirped as she set the scroll down in front of her and turned towards the computer screen to her left.

Kakashi and Sakura looked at each other, quickly realizing the fact that "Hokage" to the employee was merely a frivolous title from a far off land and not an appreciable concept. After all, Kakashi was still the Rokudaime Hokage, although he was not long Hokage in practical means, and it wasn't like he looked like many others around them to be mistaken as otherwise. A sigh of relief seemed to escape them both, after the Fourth War, there had been few places they could go where they would not be recognized.

The receptionist's nails clacked against the keyboard and before long Mizuki, as her name tag indicated, had keys programmed for the both of them and a bellboy was ready to show them how to get to their hut.

Sakura couldn't help but exchange looks of awe with Kakashi as they were led out of the open-air reception and through the main areas of the resort. Large colourful flowers decorated the paths and gardens and large leaves overhead provided shade for the guests. They passed several shops, restaurants, and bars that were sprinkled all around and there was even a building that was akin to a nightclub but was open to the humid, warm air. "This place," Sakura gasped at the luxury that surrounded them and found her attention distracted in every single direction.

"Those boys really wanted to go on this mission," Kakashi mumbled as he couldn't help but be just as fascinated as her but with less of a gape of his mouth.

The bellboy brought them to a pier where several small canoes were docked and a man stood inside of a shack with a smile on his face and a burn on the tip of his nose. "When you would like your canoe, please simply ask the gentleman over there for your paddles. Your hut is going to be number 229, the large one over there on the right. There is plumbing in every hut, but no electricity. Instead, we have provided you with some candles, and battery powered lamps and lanterns. If you have any problems with the lights then please contact reception. If you would like, I can help transport you to your residence the first time and if you would prefer for me to transport you at any other time then please simply call 'Transport Services' on your in-room telephone. You are also allowed to simply swim back and forth; please keep in mind that there is only one vessel per accommodation. Now would you like me to guide your way?"

"I think that we'll be able to make due," Kakashi said as he gave the bellboy a smile under his mask, his eyes crinkling at the corners. The bellboy nodded enthusiastically, probably happy that he wouldn't have to accompany them, and grabbed their paddles from the man inside the small shack. He showed them where their particular vessel was docked and helped them place their bags into the canoe before he waved at them merrily as Kakashi launched them away from the pier.

Sakura dipped her hands into the cool ocean water as Kakashi slowly paddled them out to their home for the next five nights and quickly flicked some of the salty water into the man's face while he couldn't retaliate. She had forgotten that he could simply splash her with the oars.

Hut 229 was indeed a hut about twice the size of the others and stood on large wooden-like beams that were almost the size of Sakura's torso. The hut rose above the water by about two meters and as far as Sakura could see, there were three ladders that lead from the ocean onto the platform above. Two of the ladders were on the rim and climbed up to the circling veranda while the last ladder seemed to go directly into the middle of the building. Sakura scanned the other clusters of huts with their own piers and sunburnt men in small shacks; she noted that there were about one to two huts the size of theirs in every cluster. Far off in the distance there was a building on the water that stood on its own, about twenty times larger than any of the huts and two or three stories high. Sakura wondered what that building was used for but it quickly fell out of her mind.

Kakashi docked the boat close to one of the ladders and Sakura realized that there was a small slightly submerged platform that they could climb onto from the boat instead of jumping directly onto the ladder. However, with chakra channeled to her shoes, Sakura quickly leapt from the canoe to the veranda and Kakashi joined her side soon after. "Wow," Sakura murmured as she walked around the veranda and stopped to marvel at the view from the back, jutting all of her torso over the low railing. "Look at that! As far as the eye can see," Sakura squealed realizing that there were no huts behind them creating a completely unimpeded view of the ocean and what would soon be the sunset.

"I wonder if this could be considered embezzlement," Kakashi muttered as he grasped the railing of the veranda and leaned in close to the pink haired kunoichi subtly putting an arm in front of her just incase in all of her excitement she would flip over the side. It wouldn't be the first time that Sakura had let her excitement and emotions get the better of her, but she would appreciate the thought of him saving her anyways.

Sakura simply laughed as a light breeze blew her hair into her face and she raised her hand to brush the short pink locks behind her ear, "I think that we should stop thinking about Konoha all together and just enjoy this."

Kakashi chuckled as Sakura span on her heel and nearly tripped from excitement on her way to the door of their accommodation. Sakura pulled out her key card to open the door and as it swung open she barged right in. By the time Kakashi entered the hut, Sakura had already abandoned all of her belongings by the entrance to explore their accommodations. Kakashi chuckled as he watched Sakura scurry from one room to the next, her feet pattering on the pseudo wood, admiring her penchant for roosting in all of the areas of their accommodation.

Within a moment Sakura had figured out how to open all the windows and the cool sea breeze took away the smell of cleaning chemicals in their comfortable abode. Kakashi dropped his pack and quickly summoned his ninken. They charged out from his summoning circle like a waterfall of beasts and immediately made themselves at home.

Sakura poked her head out of what Kakashi guessed was the bedroom with chagrin on her face, "There's only one bed, do you think we should get a futon delivered out here? Do you think it'll be a lot of trouble for them?"

"If you want a futon it wouldn't hurt to ask."

Sakura nodded but made no motion towards the battery operated telephone tucked into the corner of the general living space. "Oh this is where the ladder goes to! Look at this Kakashi," Sakura chirped as she got on her hands and knees and stared downwards near to the middle of the living area.

Kakashi shrugged off his flack jacket and pulled his mask down as he went to find where Sakura was hovering and was surprised to find a glass trap door in the middle of their living space allowing them to gaze into the ocean and if so wanting, to jump right in. "A little pointless considering the veranda is only a couple of steps away."

Sakura smiled at him, "I think it could be fun!"

"I'm sure you do," Kakashi mumbled as he ruffled her hair.

Sakura hummed in contentment while whacking his hands away from her hair before she pushed herself to the balls of her feet and strolled back over to her pack and began pulling articles of clothing out. "Care to go for a bit of a swim and then maybe some food? I'm starving," Sakura asked as she looked over her shoulder at the tall man.

Kakashi nodded in agreement as he striped himself of his long sleeved black jonin shirt and set his pack down in front of him to dig through its contents as well.

With their belongings haphazardly thrown into their bedroom, a quick decision not to wear his mask into the water, and the ninken content with their places scattered around the hut, Sakura and Kakashi launched themselves off of the veranda, diving into the cool water of the ocean, and paddled for shore. Every so often, through the water, Kakashi would hear bubbles of laughter as Sakura got caught up in a shoal of glittering silvery fish and would drag him back so that he would be able to experience what it was like swimming among twinkling stars as well.

By the time they reached the main island, nearly half an hour had passed. The man in the booth by the pier was suddenly on the beach with them as he pointed out where they could shower, get towels and find complimentary cover-ups if they so wished before he disappeared back to his post. "This place is amazing," Sakura giggled as she approached a fresh water shower to take the sand out of her hair and ice grey bikini. Kakashi leaned in under the same spray as her, rubbing consciously at his exposed face as the cool water caught on his stubble. Soft fingers touched the fine hairs there and he looked down to see Sakura smiling at him softly, "Don't worry, you don't look half bad. It's unlikely we'll see someone we know here so you can keep that air of mystery around you while also making sure you don't get a ridiculous tan line." Although her words and tone were teasing, Kakashi knew that Sakura understood his misgivings about being without a mask while other people were around, and he nodded at the soft assurance that it would be okay. "Now get out of my water you ratty bastard, I was here first," Sakura growled playfully as she shoved him out of the shower. Kakashi chuckled as he jogged to get a towel and what he thought was a nice enough looking cover up.

"Your fashion choices, as always, are fucking horrendous," Sakura mumbled when he came back to her with a bright yellow, sheer cover up patterned in black dots. "I'm going to look like a jungle cat with this on." But nonetheless Sakura pulled the garment over her head.

"I think you look… good," Kakashi coughed, lying between his teeth, and looked at anything but her while wrapping his towel over his shoulders providing himself some protection from the sun. Sakura simply snorted before she took his arm and they ambled away from the beach and into the main area of the resort.

"What do you feel like eating?" Sakura murmured as she scanned the restaurants, small and large, that dotted the walkway.

"Ramen."

"I swear to god Kakashi-senpai," Sakura laughed with a roll of her eyes.

"You can drop the senpai, we aren't in Konoha anymore," Kakashi replied as the warmth of her hands seeped into his elbow.

"Sensei then?" Sakura giggled as Kakashi's face twisted as though he had eaten a sour lemon. She loved the expressions on his face that only she was privy to, having been the only one in Team 7, and even the Konoha 9 to see his face.

"I'd really rather you not."

"Kakashi-kun then."

"I can live with that."

Sakura stuck her tongue out, "Well I don't think I can. Kakashi it is. How about we get some barbeque? The meat smells delicious!"

* * *

Thank you to Azerate, SmilingArtist, Nicole, and Team Miriku for reviewing!

In my last really like multi-chap fic, I had a Secret's Corner discussing the chapter and those before it... maybe it's time to revive that.

 **Secret's Corner**

Oh paperwork... don't you sometimes look back on something (particularly an old job) and only remember the worst parts of it? Or the best parts? Memory is fickle.

Please review!


	3. Act I, Scene III

Thank you to all those that reviewed!

* * *

 **Act I, Scene III:**

Their journey back to their hut after their meal was a little bit less eventful as Sakura pulled herself up the ladder and onto the veranda dripping water over the flat surface. Eight drying dogs were spread out around the whole entire building and Sakura wondered if they had enjoyed the fish as much as she had, or even more. "The night air is going to get chilly. You should go take a warm shower first Sakura," Kakashi stated as he climbed the last rung to place himself on their porch before he ran his hands though his silver hair to get out the water and tangles. He successfully managed to turn his hair from its dripping tendrils back into its regular bird's nest.

"Okay," Sakura agreed as she ambled into the building. Kakashi took some time outside with his ninken, making sure that they were happy and well pet, smelling the floral green shampoo on their fur and listening for when the shower would turn off. The salt water was beginning to dry on his skin leaving it slightly tacky and he rubbed irritably at it.

When the shower did shut off, Kakashi entered the building and began grabbing his own clothes, ready, just as Sakura emerged out of the steam of the washroom. Her damp hair was hanging around her face as she towel dried the locks absent-mindedly, the flush of her sun soaked skin apparent on her face and neck. Kakashi passed her by easily, their arms touching, before the shower door closed behind him.

When Kakashi was finished he found Sakura had stolen the cushions from the couch inside their hut and had taken a couple of blankets from their bed out to the veranda. She was leaning against the side of the building, Bull once again pressed to her one side, Bisuke in her lap and the other ninken scattered around her feet. Kakashi slowly made his way to her and lowered himself down on the cushions. Sakura unhurriedly lifted her blanket to allow him into the warmth underneath and he easily took his place beside her. "It's beautiful isn't it?" Sakura murmured as she rested her head on his shoulder and stared out into the horizon.

"It is," Kakashi agreed leaning back against the building and pulling one of his knees up to his chest. "Naruto did well." The scent of floral green filled his nose and Kakashi wondered how it was that some of his most important companions in life had all independently ended up using the same shampoo.

Sakura laughed breathily, "He really did. Honestly I expected to be back in Konoha now with news of incomplete reservations and plans that had fallen apart."

"I did too."

"You still would have taken the position of acting Hokage for him though."

"Like a fool," Kakashi sighed. Sakura giggled as the sun dipped below the horizon and all of the colours of day and night mixed all at once in the heavens and reflected off the still surface of the southern waters.

* * *

There hadn't been that much thought put into their sleeping arrangements. Kakashi and Sakura had shared beds several times in the past on missions, with each other and with other teammates that it wasn't particularly awkward to be doing so while not on a vacation as well. The fact that all eight ninken demanded to be on the bed with them caused both Sakura's and Kakashi's sleeping positions to triangulate outward with Bull nestled between their sets of legs and their faces to be pressed up to the backs of Uhei and Guruko while some of the other dogs haloed around their heads hogging most of the pillow space. They had fallen asleep talking to each other about puppy snuffles and Kakashi's haphazard experiences raising all of them all at once except for Pakkun who had been the first.

The morning came in the form of rays of sunshine that crept onto their bed and Kakashi woke first as he tended to do on unassuming mornings. Sakura's soft breaths blended in with the snores of the ninken around him and Kakashi only grunted a little bit at the weight that was Pakkun on his chest.

He turned his head to the side to see the bird's nest of pink hair that surrounded Sakura's head and smiled, bringing his hand up to rub his unmasked face again. He remembered the day that she had first seen his face as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. It had been only a little after the war when they were all recovering from the efforts and neither had seen the other in over a month due to the festivities and rebuilding that Fire as a nation and Fire as an ally had to do.

Kakashi had been spending time at the cenotaph again during that period, ruminating over the name and the man whom Kakashi had come to pay his respects to for the better portion of Kakashi's life and how his thoughts of that person etched onto that stone had so drastically changed. They were still bonded by ties that could not be broken, but it was different now. The darkness of losing Obito when he had been a reckless teenager had faded somewhat at their tragic but hopeful reconciliation.

That particular night, Uchiha Obito had also found his way into Sakura's mind. She remembered the time that she had spent with the man trying to save Sasuke and how the man had informed her of the boys he and Kakashi had used to be. When she came to the cenotaph to pay her respects to a man that she had only known for moments but had ultimately shaped her life, Kakashi was there.

In his moment of contemplation, Kakashi hadn't been able to disservice Obito by having a mask cover his face. In the presence of the man that had once again sacrificed everything to give him a future, Kakashi felt that he need to be open and exposed, willing to give Obito his everything. He had been so lost in thought that day that he hadn't even noticed Sakura appearing at the edge of the clearing on the other side of the cenotaph.

When Kakashi had realized that Sakura had seen his face, everything had seemed to fall apart, but when she held him from behind, telling him that she wouldn't look again and holding him with all the support that she could muster in too strong arms, Kakashi had finally let go some of himself. But just for her. Later she had told him that she had never seen him cry before and it had probably been one of the most heart wrenching things she had ever seen.

The warmth and strength of her embrace beside that black obelisk recalled to them their dynamic during the Fourth War, the way that they had become close, relying on each other and saving each other's lives in the face of old friends, eventually redeemed. It reminded Kakashi of the ways that he had caught her in his arms, giving her the support she had needed when she had been the most vulnerable. They had recalled the way they had found each other back then when Naruto and Sasuke had only wanted to be everything to the other.

It was from that moment on that they had promised each other to never be strangers and he had exposed himself fully to her, vulnerable fleshy copy-nin parts and all. Her reactive non-reaction to his face had taken all of her will power, but it was what he had needed at that moment and she hadn't regretted it one bit.

Since then they had been the closest of friends and each other's rock on hard days. Second to the Yamanaka, Kakashi conceded. But that was a different kind of friendship. What Sakura and Ino had together was like fire, passionate and loving but sometimes it burnt but to eventually strengthen the flames further. Kakashi and Sakura's friendship was one of the earth, solid with mutual respect and support, deep-seated in comfort and understanding.

"You're staring," Sakura murmured raising her hand to rub her grimy eyes, and pulling him out of his reverie.

Kakashi blinked, gave her a smile, and replied, "I was just wondering what kind of evil forest sprite had tried to devour your head, turned out it was just your hair." A pillow came smashing down on his face and the games began as Kakashi pulled out another pillow from below Akino instantly involving the ninken in the pillow fight.

* * *

Kakashi, Sakura, and their pack of excitable dogs decided to get to the main island by walking on water that morning. Their trek was met with many stares as the resort was full of mostly civilians, but it appeared the occurrence was common enough that the guffaws were soon dispelled.

Sakura wore her black shorts and a spaghetti strap emerald top over her bikini to accommodate for the hot day while Kakashi adorned his sleeveless jonin undershirt with attached mask and his ice blue swim trunks.

"I feel like bring them along was a bad idea," Sakura sighed as she sat on the sand at the edge of the water, watching the waves climb and recede on the white banks of the beach.

Kakashi leaned back on his arms as the sun beat down on them, his stomach rumbling angrily. He sighed as he rocked forward and watched as his ninken attracted the attention of nearly every passerby on the beach. "They'll get pouty if we leave them to go get food by ourselves," Kakashi muttered and ran his hand through his hair in slight exasperation. When had his dogs become such attention whores? He blamed Sakura for spoiling them rotten, ignoring the fact that they had always been attention whores… but only to him… and he loved it.

"Wonder if an all expenses includes feeding a legion of ninken… or just Bull really."

"I'm sure we could just put it on Naruto's tab if it ends up being an extra charge."

"I like the way you think," Sakura paused, "Did you ever do this kind of thing when you were Hokage?"

Kakashi simply shrugged, "Sometimes you need a break from those snotty elders."

Sakura laughed as Pakkun ambled up to her. "How were the girls?"

"It was good, but I like your pets more," Pakkun huffed as he shuffled into Sakura's lap and curled up, his eyes closing against the sun, "I need rest now but you may touch my pads Sakura." Kakashi cleared his throat and Pakkun opened one eye to stare at him, "Her pets are the best pets." Kakashi frowned fighting down the envy in his heart as Sakura snickered as him knowing full well how Kakashi felt about his ninken.

"See if I ever take you guys along on my vacation again," Kakashi mumbled petulantly as he pushed himself to his feet at the sound of Sakura's snickered as she gently massaged Pakkun's paws. "Boys! If you want breakfast—"

Sakura laughed louder as suddenly all seven other ninken were gathered in front of Kakashi with their tongues out and their tails wagging, throwing the sand beneath them left and right. Sakura wailed and sputtered as the sand was thrown into her face. She leapt to her feet but not before she had cradled Pakkun into her arms. Pakkun smugly looked at the rest of the ninken, and then yelped as Sakura placed him on the ground. "No favourites Pakkun, I love you all. Please I think Kakashi is about to lose his mind and we don't want that."

Pakkun grumbled under his breath and snuffled a couple of times, but at Sakura's complete resistance to his charms, Pakkun gave in and climbed on top of Bull. "Food?" Bull boomed.

Kakashi looked at Sakura and with a roll of both of their eyes they turned to head to the nearest restaurant, acknowledging that without the dogs they would have eaten a whole hour ago.

* * *

The dogs disappeared after breakfast was over. Sakura wasn't sure if they had just taken the shortest, short cut back to the hut or if they had decided that the other dimension was a lot cooler, but either way she was happy that they were satiated. As much as she loved all of Kakashi's ninken, the overwhelming smell of sea dog was getting to her.

"Let's check out what else they have around here!" Sakura chirped happily as they once again found themselves wandering around the resort. "I wonder if the resort takes up the whole island," Sakura mumbled, "It sure looked like it from the boat."

"They probably have some unoccupied space to the east, but from how busy this place is, it probably won't stay that way for long," Kakashi surmised as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked with her side by side.

The large flowers that decorated the central parts of the resort fell away as large ferns and vinery greens replaced them. The loud restaurants and shops also died away to smaller boutiques with wares that Kakashi could tell came from all over the main continent. Too bad that the vast majority of the items were way over priced and even Sakura who was drawn to the objects like a magpie couldn't bring herself to buy any out of her own wallet especially since Kakashi had deftly mentioned that he could get these objects for her while he was on a mission, if she so wanted.

It took them nearly an hour and a half to circle the entire resort and Sakura made Kakashi promise that they would get a drink that evening before the sun set. He had obliged her easily, wanting something strong himself. They were on vacation after all.

But before then Sakura had managed to get herself swept away in a frenzy of resort goers as a man who worked for the resort announced that a school of whale sharks were nearby and that only a singular boat was going to be bringing passengers out to see them.

To say the least, Sakura had convinced Kakashi to use their shinobi abilities to secure themselves a place on the vessel. "We can't afford to come back here so let's take any advantage we can to see everything!"

Sakura hooted as the boat they had climbed on jumped over the waves. Her shoulder length pink hair whipped around her neck, irritating the pink skin, as the boat raced out to where the whale sharks were last spotted.

Sakura had peeled off her shorts and pulled off her tank top, to reveal her bikini and pulled the strings out of the top to tie around her neck quickly as the boat began to slow down. They were not too far from Alicante but from where they were now they were no longer able to see the mainland.

"The boat will be returning to the resort in one hour. Please jump in and out at your leisure," the captain announced as he pulled to a stop, "Please do not touch any of the whale sharks; the contact will stress them out. If you're ever scared pretend to be a starfish. Don't worry if you don't want to swim, it is still spectacular to see from up here." Several people immediately jumped into the ocean but Sakura and Kakashi looked at each other and then out to the deep blue water not seeing anything through its clear depths. And then there was a tail and a dorsal fin, then two more.

"Oh my god!" Sakura screamed in glee as the tail disappeared beneath the waves again with nary a splash. Before Kakashi could object, Sakura grabbed his hand and they dived into the water together.

Popping his head above the water and pulling his mask down to his neck, Kakashi glowered slightly at Sakura as she laughed sheepishly back at him before she dived under the sea. Not one to refuse a challenge, Kakashi pulled off his sleeveless shirt and mask, threw it back into the boat and dived under the waves with her and opened his eyes.

Shadows in the distance moved with the water, indicating that there were several whale sharks out there, but his attention was on the pink haired mermaid that was paddling in the water column in front of him, her green eyes sparkling in the sea.

Kakashi watched as Sakura's hands suddenly grasped each other in what he knew to be her expression of glee and saw that her gaze was no longer on him, but behind him. Kakashi splashed around slowly and nearly screamed at the whale shark that was hovering behind him with its mouth wide open, feeding on microscopic plankton when Kakashi was sure that the thing was big enough to swallow him whole. Instantly Kakashi spread his legs and arms out like a starfish, but the whale shark easily missed him by ten meters.

When his head broke the surface, all he could hear were Sakura's loud belly wrenching laughs at his reaction to the incredible beast. So he was a bit startled by a very, very big fish. He didn't think that the laughter that was nearly drowning her was all that warranted.

In the end he had to chuck her back onto the boat for the captain feared her drowning if she continued to laugh the way she did.

They had eventually dived back into the water again, when Sakura had managed to reign in her senses and Kakashi more successfully kept his cool in the light of the school of whale sharks swimming around them. He couldn't help that he would still jolt every time one of the magical beasts came at him through the deep blue, but at least he wasn't screaming. From his count, he had identified at least fifteen different individuals.

He had watched the first few times Sakura had dived down below the ocean surface to paddle along the side of the whale sharks in their own environment and on her third time he decided that it was his time to join her. She had smiled so happily at him under the waves that he couldn't help but smile back as the sun overhead cast light on their faces.

When they were called back to the boat for the final time, Kakashi could admit that he felt a school boy sense of disappointment radiate through him. The experience had been incredible.

Sakura's cheek had landed on his shoulder for the ride home and although they had both just experienced it, they couldn't stop talking about the adventure the whole entire way home.

Kakashi clamored out of the boat before Sakura and held a hand out to her. She smiled at him, "Thank you," and took it, exiting the vessel with a more grace than he had.

"Oh look they even match," an old woman crooned in their direction from the large boat, "Are you sweethearts on your honeymoon together?"

Kakashi and Sakura looked at each other, and then at what they were wearing, Sakura having just thrown her shorts and shirt over her shoulder rather than putting them back on. Indeed, they had matching bathing suits. How had they not noticed their matching ensemble the previous day? It probably had to do with that garish yellow thing Kakashi had picked out for her.

Kakashi coughed as a light blush washed over his cheeks, one that matched Sakura's, before he walked over to the older woman and helped her get off the boat, "No madam, we're just old friends."

The woman smiled at him appreciatively as Kakashi turned to help the man he guessed was her husband from the vessel as well. "Oh well, that's nice too," the old woman crooned again.

"It is nice," Sakura murmured softly to Kakashi when he returned to her side, "Have a pleasant rest of your day!" They hurried to grab lunch and also find something to bring back to their hut for dinner.

* * *

Thank you to Azerate, Nicole, and Leomae2.0 for reviewing.

 **Secret's Corner**

Indeed... there will be lemons later on between all the fluff. I'll warn people in the chapter before if there will be and so for those who wish, you can skip!

I can definitely see Kakashi as not being used to giant ocean creatures careening at him and also loving his dogs to the most maximum of degrees.


	4. Act I, Scene IV

Continued fluffy-fluff.

* * *

 **Act I, Scene IV:**

"Do you think it's too much?" Sakura asked as she twirled in the middle of the glass floor, her short, red summer dress lifting up to her mid thigh from the movement and then settling down in neat waves.

Kakashi looked up from his book on the couch, "I think you look nice," he said not commenting on the fact that he'd seen her in that dress a couple times before and she had looked just as good every time.

Sakura smiled appreciatively as she walked over to him and peeked into the pages of the volume that he was reading. "Oh, that part. No wonder you haven't really been paying attention to much else," Kakashi simply nodded in response as he flipped the page. "Kakashi are you ready?" Sakura asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"Yes."

Sakura pouted a little as Kakashi wore his regular jonin ensemble, minus the flack jacket, and other than his swim trunks did not look any different than he had that morning. "Don't you have anything else to wear?"

"This is my style Sakura."

"Of course high ranked shinobi is your style."

"Just like red is yours," Kakashi replied as he snapped his book closed and gave her a smile, "Does it really matter what I wear?"

"I thought we'd just be able to have a nice night together!"

"It'll be a wonderful night spending it with you."

"Lame."

"I try."

Sakura giggled and rolled her eyes at the man before she took both of his hands and pulled him to his feet, her own lightly tapping on the floor. "Let's go then." Kakashi laughed as he rose with her strength away from the couch.

Once again they chose to use their chakra to walk themselves across the water, the green and blue glows contrasting with the orange and red streaks reflecting in the ocean from the setting sun.

The bar they ended up choosing was right on the beach, tables anchored in the sand and palm trees swaying overhead. Light music occupied their space but they could hear heavier tunes getting louder in the direction of the nightclub.

The sea breeze brought with it the scent of salt and foam but didn't disturb the duo as they ordered their drinks.

Sakura looked up at the waiter with a wide smile and bright eyes and gestured at the menu, "Would I be able to have…"

The waiter smiled confidently back at her and leaned down so that his mouth was practically by her ear, "I suggest the Alicante cocktail. It's our special here. If you don't like it… I can make sure that for a beautiful girl like you, it'll be on the house." Sakura turned her gaze to the man who smiled at her teasingly, all of the confidence in the world on his face.

"Oh," Sakura waved a hand in front of her mouth and flirted back, "If I'm so beautiful, can't I have everything on the house tonight?"

The waiter chuckled and his warm breath slid around the shell of her ear again, "Somehow I feel I can arrange that."

"The Alicante cocktail sounds perfect then."

"Right away, and you sir?"

Kakashi simply raised an eyebrow at the man, "Your best whiskey on the rocks."

The waiter nodded moving his eyes between Kakashi's hair and face, his expression getting more and more confused the longer he stared, and then gracefully he turned to the bar to put in their orders. Sakura leaned on the table, her cheek in her hand as she traced the surface with one finger of her other, "It's been a while since anyone has flirted with me. I didn't realize that up until now. My cheeks feel hot and tingly."

"The men in Konoha just know that you could drop a mountain on them if you so wanted."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "And what? That makes me intimidating?"

"Just a scooch."

Sakura leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, shaking her head, "That can't be it. I mean Tenten has found herself a man and she intimidates with sharp, pointy things all the time. Mountains aren't as accessible as kunai, you know?"

Kakashi simply shrugged, "I have no idea why then. Maybe you spend too much time in that hospital of yours and the men simply never see you enough to ask you out?"

Sakura huffed a bit at her foot tapped on the ground, "Not even any of the medics flirt with me. Some of the new trainees do for a couple days and then it just kind of abruptly stops."

"That's because you make them cry Sakura."

"Tch, pansies. If they cry from my tutelage then I don't know what they would have done at Tsunade's."

"There's a reason only you and Shizune have been Tsunade's protégés. All three of you are frightening in your own ways."

"Shizune? She's so sweet though."

"She's like a lioness, always on the hunt. She seems calm to you because you're part of her pride."

"That's because you always hand in your mission reports late!"

"Still though."

"If she's a lioness then what am I?"

Kakashi seemed to think about this for a bit as he too leaned back in his seat, "You… are a combustible lioness."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," Kakashi smiled, both of his eyes creasing.

Sakura tilted her head as she leaned onto the table again and reached across to gently run her thumb over the corner of the eye that had once held the sharingan. A small frown slipped onto her expression for just a moment before it disappeared into a small smile. "I like your crows' feet. You didn't use to have them."

"That makes me feel old Sakura."

Sakura shook her head, "No, it just means that since I've met you until now, you've smiled and laughed a lot more." Sakura slowly receded her hand before she brought her fingers up the corner of her green eyes, "See, crows' feet as well."

Kakashi chuckled at Sakura's simple sincerity before their drinks were placed in front of them. The waiter looked between the two before he seemed to go a light shade of pink and straighten so that he was not too close to either of them, "I hope you enjoy your beverages, if you would like any more please feel free to wave me down."

Sakura smiled at him as she dragged her drink closer to herself, "Thank you." Nodding at her quickly the waiter slunk away without another word. Sakura sighed as she slipped the straw between her lips and sucked the liquid up into her mouth. "He doesn't even know that I could drop a mountain on him and yet he's already—oh this is really good, you should try some!" Sakura pushed her drink in Kakashi's direction and stole his amber filled glass for a short sip. She watched the ridiculous image of Kakashi sipping a cerulean cocktail out of a tall glass with a bright orange umbrella in it.

Kakashi pushed the drink back to her and flexed his fingers indicating that Sakura should pass his drink back to him. She took one more sip to feel the burning warmth climb down her throat before she set the glass into his hand. "One day I'll get you chugging a fruity, slushy drink," Sakura laughed as she sipped her cocktail feeling as though its juice like qualities were going to floor her in the morning.

"I already have a favourite fruity cocktail," Kakashi grinned, "Can't say I've ever chugged it though."

Sakura's eyes snapped up to meet his, the straw still between her lips as she keenly observed him for any false hood. Swallowing heavily, Sakura raised her head never breaking eye contact with the copy-nin. "Pray tell."

"I've had a penchant for sex on the beaches since Genma—"

Before Kakashi could finish his sentence Sakura had whirled in her seat and was waving down the waiter with all of the vigor of a woman who had just discovered something invaluable. The waiter noticed her instantly and before he could make it to the table, Sakura excitedly shouted, "Can I get a sex on the beach? Can you make it twice- two! Please!" Sakura corrected hastily and with luminescent green eyes. Kakashi chuckled at the blush that raced up the man's neck as he nodded and turned back to the bar. Sakura rounded on him instantly, "You better actually love sex on the beaches because if this was a crummy match making scam—"

"Mou, Sakura-chan, would I ever lie to you?" Kakashi's eyes went wide in fake innocence.

"Don't do a Naruto; you can't do a Naruto. I won't let you get away with a Naruto," Sakura chanted as she lifted her drink and jammed the straw in her mouth, finishing the cocktail in one brain freezing gulp.

Kakashi couldn't help but let out a deep rumbling laugh, "I really do like them."

"Good," Sakura grinned as the waiter came by again and set the two drinks down on the table, "Thank you, sorry for being so rude."

The waiter simply shifted on his feet looking at Kakashi and then looking back at Sakura, "It's no problem. Please enjoy your drinks."

As the waiter walked away hurriedly, Kakashi tilted his head, "Maybe he heard us say that you regularly make men cry, cause wow that was one hell of a one eighty."

With a sulk and a shift so that she would slide down in her seat, Sakura grabbed her sex on the beach, "Maybe its something about my face when you get near it."

Kakashi merely waved his hand at her as he set down his empty glass, ice cubes clinking. "Ah, as long as you don't show them your bed head everything should be fine." He downed his sex on the beach before Sakura could empty hers to toss the glass at his head.

* * *

A few hours later when the sun had dipped completely below the horizon and the clear skies were sprinkled with an endless array of stars, Sakura and Kakashi stumbled over the ocean back to their hut a little tipsy but warm with alcohol. Sakura had her arm in the crook of Kakashi's elbow for balance as her bare feet grazed across the surface of the water, her shoes hooked into the fingers of her other hand. "It's been sooooo long since I've stumbled back home like this," Sakura laughed as she threw her head back to stare at the stars causing Kakashi to lurch slightly so that he could keep both of their balances.

"Maybe this means you should spend less time at the hospital then. Even Tsunade had indulgences outside of those cold white walls."

"They aren't c-cold or white anymore," Sakura squeaked between hiccups as they resumed their slow stroll over the waves, "You h-haven't been there for a while because I'm such a wonderful p-person and just come find you, but I did take to h-heart how you said the hospital made you f-feel and we've done some redecorating."

"It's still a place that people go to die."

"Nuh uh Kaka-sh-shi-senpai. It's the place people go for me to heal th-them." Kakashi chuckled at Sakura's confidence as she suddenly righted her stance, causing him to stumble again, and pumped her free arm, with her shoes dangling, in the air giving him one of her confident smiles. Her seal glistened in the moonlight and he felt a sense of pride fill up his heart. "But I'll still heal you at h-home since I am such a magnificent human."

"Yes, yes, we've all heard how wonderful you are. Now no more with the senpai."

"No more with the ch-chan!"

"That's Naruto."

Sakura hummed, "Oh that's right."

When they made it to one of the ladders to their hut, Kakashi guided Sakura by the waist as she hoisted herself onto the veranda and then followed right after her. Like the previous day the ninken were once again spread out over the balcony enjoying the sea breeze and night air. Sakura had rolled over the pseudo-wood and was already lying beside Guruko petting him gently as his back paw vibrated from pleasure. For having nearly three times as many drinks as him, he having just had the one whiskey and three sex on the beaches, Sakura wasn't nearly as bad as he thought she would be. He guessed that she had learnt more from Tsunade than just medical ninjutsu and taijutsu.

"Do you wanna light the lanterns on the veranda?" Sakura asked softly as she sat herself up off the ground. At seeing her efforts, Uhei used his muzzle to help her sit up straight. In return Sakura hugged the bandaged dog up to her side and ran her hands through his fur right where the bindings ended. Uhei grunted in pleasure as he pressed himself harder against Sakura making her laugh in delight and her world spin.

"Just give me a second." Kakashi disappeared into the hut with a swipe of his key card and reappeared with the cushions and the blanket that Sakura had taken outside the previous evening. Slowly Kakashi kneeled down beside where Sakura sat wobbly and wrapped the blanket around her, "You'll get cold soon."

"Hmm, I'm cold already."

"All the more reason to get to warmed up. Sorry Uhei," Kakashi said as he wrapped the blankets around Sakura's shoulders and then picked her up to deposit her against the wall on the cushions that he had dropped to the ground. Immediately Akino and Shiba shuffled around and laid their bodies across Sakura's legs to keep her warm.

Sakura hummed in appreciation as Kakashi stood back up and walked to the lanterns that hung from the building's overhang and the veranda railings. Slowly he switched all of them on and smiled at the fact that the lights flickered as though the lanterns were actually lit by fire. When the veranda was a bright with the lanterns' glow, their lights reflecting like balls of fire in the ocean, Kakashi once again sat down beside Sakura and adjusted the blanket so that they both would be able to get underneath. Her weight immediately settled onto his side as she breathed out, "You're warm."

Kakashi wrapped an arm around her shoulders at the scent of floral green invaded his nose, "So are you."

Sakura's eyes fluttered, "Thank you." Playing with the ends of a few stands of her hair Kakashi watched as Sakura shifted her attention to the way the light of the moon and the light of the lanterns mingled on the water. "Don't you think it's beautiful?"

"What is?"

"How far the moon, the stars, and the lanterns are apart from each other and yet how all of their light can so easily dance together in the waves."

Kakashi turned his gaze out to the horizon, and watched with Sakura as the lights all flickered on the rolling tides coming apart and then together again with every crest and trough. "It is beautiful."

* * *

Kakashi woke up the next morning when the bed shifted, quick taps could be heard on the floor, and then the horrid sounds of retching came out of the washroom. Bleary eyed and with a small head ache himself Kakashi threw his legs off of the bed being mindful of the scatter of ninken around him also rising at the sound of Sakura being sick.

Kakashi walked over to the washroom and peeked in. He shook his head at the sight that befell him. Gunky, green eyes met his as her cheek rested on the side of the porcelain bowl, her hair in complete disarray and the red dress that she was still wearing crinkling around her. "Good morning sunshine," Kakashi chirped.

"Do me a favour and go drown," Sakura muttered as she lifted her head feeling the need to expel the contents of her stomach again but only dry heaving over the toilet.

Kakashi deftly walked into the washroom and gently gathered the sweat laden hair clumped around Sakura's face and held it back behind her neck. "Down for breakfast?"

And so the bile rose.

* * *

Sakura had curled herself back into the bed, refusing to come out from beneath the comforter. Kakashi didn't find it odd really that he was having a conversation with a lump, but when he was trying to be nice and get breakfast for all ten of them by himself, traitorous dogs opting to stay with the hung over kunoichi, muffled requests were hard to interpret.

Kakashi opted for a short morning swim to get to shore once all nine orders of food were interpreted and stretched leisurely on the sand once he was on the main island of Alicante. Unlike Sakura, Kakashi best dealt with his hangovers with physical activity. He would also never tell her that he had emptied his stomach in the middle of the night even though when she regained her brain she would immediately be suspicious since she knew he was a complete and total lightweight. That night had been a long and embarrassing one, but he rather it have been Sakura than Naruto to know.

As he walked down the pathways to find a suitable breakfast place, the woman from the reception whom had checked them in ran up to him with wide eyes and bated breaths. He didn't remember her name. "Kakashi-san?"

"Um, that would be me," Kakashi muttered very much wishing that he was wearing his mask at that very moment.

"You're a guest of the Hokage correct? Does that mean you and Sakura-san are shinobi?"

Kakashi observed her for a second before he slowly nodded his head, "Is there a problem?"

The woman hurriedly nodded her head, "I'm so sorry to bother you during your stay here, but the boss is desperate and we don't have anyone else to turn to with such short notice."

"What's going on?"

The woman swallowed deeply before looking left and right. Seeing that none of the other resort goers were listening but still worried that they would be overheard, she dragged Kakashi down a different path to a place where they could be alone.

Kakashi had thrown his guard up the moment that she had approached him but now his senses were tingling as he focused on the movement of the few individuals that remained around them. The woman eventually stopped by a small bench and gestured for Kakashi to sit. "I'm sorry that I am the one relaying this message to you, it must seem so unprofessional but the boss is trying to deal with the situation by other means and I told him that I had checked you two in and thought that you might be shinobi-"

"Please, don't worry about that. Many others have definitely already guessed that we are shinobi from our own expressed behaviours. Just tell me what is wrong and we'll do anything we can to help." Kakashi thought to the lump back in their bed, and then shaking his head. He knew that Sakura was always up for the task of lending a hand, no matter how sick she was.

"We got this letter last night," the receptionist pulled out a small, opened envelope and handed it to Kakashi who scanned the contents quickly before handing it back to her, "It details the plans of an attack on the party that will be held by Inoue Yuki tonight."

Kakashi let out a low whistle, "Inoue Yuki is here, is he?"

The woman nodded, "And his wife."

"Oh my, the great Chie-sama."

"Usually they have a shinobi guard and that is sufficient but as you can see the letter details each and every last one of them. They're afraid something terrible is going to happen at the event."

"Of course its suspicious that you would get a warning in the first place. What could the attackers hope to accomplish by telling those involved what they plan to do? I hope, as I'm sure you do that this person is actually on your side."

"This is why we need all the help we can. Most of us who work here at the resort are civilians and…" Tears began to spring to life in the corner of the woman's eyes.

Kakashi placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "What is your name again?"

"Ichikawa Mizuki, sir."

"Well Mizuki-chan, don't worry. My… partner and I will take care of things."

Mizuki smiled at him gratefully, "The event will be black tie and will be on the north section of the island and in the grand hall out on the ocean. It starts at 6pm."

"Thank goodness," Kakashi muttered, thinking back again to the pink haired lump. At the confused look on Mizuki's face Kakashi simply gave her a reassuring smile.

"We will deliver to your accommodations several different outfits that you can choose from for the event."

"Blending in will be optimal," Kakashi agreed.

Mizuki grabbed his hands, "Thank you. We are all so grateful."

Kakashi gently wrestled his fingers from her hands and rubbed the back of his head, "Don't thank us yet Mizuki-chan, we'll get this figured out for you first."

She nodded quickly before standing up and disappearing into the resort. Kakashi sighed as he stared down at the ground between his knees still rubbing the back of his head, "I knew that a week long vacation was too good to be true."

* * *

Kakashi returned to the hut with almost more food in his hands than he could juggle, but luckily the ninken were ready to devour and so his load lightened considerably and quickly as the dogs vacated the bedroom and ate out on the veranda. Kakashi peeked his head into the bedroom first to see what kind of damage was still being done and sighed in relief to see Sakura snoring softly with the blanket draped across her waist rather than as a barrier to the outside world. From experience, Kakashi knew that this meant that Sakura would be ready to go by the early afternoon and he would not have to deal with a temperamental and hung over kunoichi while also attempting to stop a… robbery? Assassination plot? One could never tell with families as rich at the Inoue's.

Kakashi slipped into the bedroom and crawled into the bed, placing the take out box on the nightstand so that it would be ready for Sakura the moment she rejoined the world of the conscious and found that her stomach was more than empty. Kakashi leaned back on the headboard and pulled out a volume of Icha Icha.

The sunlight streamed into the room, giving him ample light to read. The sea breeze blew in through the windows, keeping him cool in the hot, tropical climate. Icha Icha was proceeding smoothly to its climax, keeping his attention. Sakura shuffled beside him and Kakashi's hand dropped to run his fingers through her hair, soothing her in her sleep. These kind of late mornings, were the perfect kind of late mornings.

* * *

Thank you to RedReaper88, Nicole, Leomae2.0, and Lady AlyseB630 for reviewing!

 **Secret's Corner**

Lots of parts in this chapter and now also some action in the next? I can totally see Sakura and Kakashi just being each other's way home at the end of a bar night.


	5. Act I, Scene V

I hope you all enjoy! Please review. Reviews give happiness.

Changing the chapter names around as I slowly figure out how I'm going to be organizing this fic! I think I finally have it handled.

* * *

 **Act I, Scene V:**

"Of course we'd get ourselves tangled in a high society plot," Sakura murmured as she ran her fingers over the three dresses that were laid out neatly on the couch. The fabric of each of the dresses was soft, but slightly different to the touch, all higher quality than any of the pieces that she had in her closet at home. She sighed loudly as she toed the matching sets of high heels that were placed next to each of the beautiful garments and wondered for how long she was going to be able to stand in them. She didn't like to admit it, especially if Ino was around, but she had never gotten used to walking in heeled foot ware. "Do you think anyone will be able to recognize you or me?"

"Unless people are looking, no one tends to recognize me without a mask on," a clean-shaven Kakashi muttered as he frowned at the assortment of suits that were in front of him. There was a theme going on with this vacation and the name of the game seemed to be 'matching'. "How annoyed do you think they'd be if you decided to go in that green one and I decided to wear the blue suit?"

"You prefer the blue eh?" Sakura said with some chagrin as she smiled at Kakashi sheepishly.

"You like the blue dress don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Well, there we have it." The name of the game was matching.

"I'm going to do my hair and make up," Sakura murmured as she turned towards the washroom muttering about how she was completely unprepared for such an event and how she wished that Ino were there since the woman always knew how to pretty up in a dash.

The door clicked closed and Kakashi picked up the navy blue suit. It really did suit him much better than both the black suit and the gray suit with the green colored tie. He shifted his eyes over to the blue dress that Sakura had chosen for herself. The blue dress would look spectacular on her. Kakashi sighed to himself, "I guess coming in as though we are a couple is for the best."

Kakashi set the suit back down on the couch and hearing that Sakura was still cursing about the difficulties of styling short hair, he set himself on changing before she emerged.

As he secured the bow tie around his neck, the washroom door swung open and Sakura stepped out. "How do I look?" Sakura asked her green gaze looking up at him from under long eyelashes and darkly lined eyes. Her lips were shiny with a dark, nearly blood red lipstick and her hair was pulled up in a loosely braided chignon that sat on the nape of her neck. Kakashi couldn't help but flush slightly at the way that she was looking at him as his gaze roamed her face from the seal on her forehead to the tip of her chin. "Is it bad?" Sakura reiterated not sure how to interpret his silence.

"No. You look elegant," Kakashi answered honestly with a small smile on his face.

Sakura gave him a warm smile back as she swept over to where he was standing and reached up to readjust his bow tie just a little. She then patted him on the chest and went over to where the dress lay on the couch and picked it up. "You look handsome in that suit." And with that Sakura was back inside the washroom and Kakashi chuckled as curses once again echoed in the washroom walls, missing the flush that had appeared on her face.

He ran a hand through his hair to get rid of the tangles and sighed, shifting his gaze to his ninken, perfectly lined up on the other side of the living room and being all too quiet. Kakashi quirked an eyebrow, "What's up you guys? I know that you're just dying to say something."

Pakkun, being the one that spoke the most and the loudest despite his size, automatically became the sound box for the pack of them, "You two look good together."

"Good to know."

"You two are good together. Sakura's a good person, boss."

Kakashi smiled as he flickered his gaze to the washroom door where the curses were now quieter but fiercer, "I know."

"Good. Sometimes we wonder if you even know a good thing when you see it."

"I take insult to that."

"She takes care of you; she takes care of us."

"That she does. She… she takes care of everyone."

"Also the temper makes her fun."

Kakashi chuckled as a loud slam vibrated through their lodgings. "That it does."

"We're glad you have her in your life."

Kakashi paused as he thought about the relationship that Sakura and he had developed from the moment that he had met her. It was true, they hadn't always been that close. When Sasuke and Naruto had left the village as genin, Kakashi hadn't even stuck around for her. The idea of doing something like that now seemed absolutely absurd to him; events of Naruto's and Sasuke's shenanigans were the perfect time for them to bond together. Even though it had been slow, they had grown close since Naruto's return from training with Jiraya and their experiences fighting beside each other during the Fourth War. "I'm glad I have her too."

The door to the washroom slowly creaked open as Sakura's face popped out experimentally. Seeing that she had a spectator's gallery, Sakura receded back into the washroom before opening the door with a bang and strolling out with the confidence of a woman that was wearing a dress too long for her frame.

Kakashi laughed as Sakura stumbled on the hem, her annoyed murmurs joining his amusement as she shuffled to the high-heeled shoes. "These are going to kill me. You're going to have to bury my ankles deep Kakashi."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to perform the proper sermons," Kakashi chuckled as he approached her and lent her a hand as she slipped on the shoes. Even with the nearly three and a half inch heels on, Sakura's eye level didn't quite reach his and Kakashi couldn't help but grin in amusement at her height challengedness, but also he was relieved that she was not taller than him. Physically he didn't have much on her anymore, so he prided himself on the fact that he was at least taller though not stronger than her.

"I might have to cling onto you the whole night, I feel like a baby giraffe right now." The dogs all looked at each other.

"No one will suspect you're a highly trained shinobi at the very least."

"Ha ha Kakashi."

He simply looked down at her, still clutching to his arm as she shook in her shoes and he noted that the sleeveless dress and the form fitting fabric really did look great on her. The lace detailing of the outside layer of the dress highlighted the simplicity of the rest of the flowing fabric while also shielding the outline of what could have been a strapless sweetheart neckline. A narrow strip of her semi-exposed abdomen belted her waist perfectly. He hadn't been mincing words when he called her elegant, though maybe her current unsteadiness was proving him wrong. "Are you ready?"

"Other than the fact that I am highly uncomfortable, yes," Sakura murmured as she raised her eyes to look up at him, her dark red lips set in a gentile smile that Kakashi knew for sure would fool anyone into thinking that she was simply a demure, young woman. He couldn't wait to see her put a fist through that person's face.

The two of them climbed into the canoe that they hadn't touched for over two days and Kakashi set to slowly paddling them out toward the large building on the water that Sakura had seen the first day that she had been there.

The sun was still above the horizon, warming the water beneath Sakura's fingers as she once again traced patterns in the glass like surface, playing with the ripples that the oars Kakashi handled made. As they got closer to the building more and more canoes joined their side containing other individuals and couples that were arriving to the event. The bellboys that worked at the resort handled some of the canoes but the guests themselves navigated more often than Kakashi expected for being invitee's of the Inoue family.

Kakashi followed the stream of boats easily as they all moored at a long pier that jutted out of the island and towards the grand hall. That was when Sakura realized that unlike the other huts, this one did have a dry path to land.

A worker on the pier secured their boat for them and helped them out before taking their oars away for safe keeping. Kakashi coughed slightly as he readjusted his bow tie and scratched the bridge of his nose looking around at all of the guests that were milling about.

Sakura easily saddled up to his side and took his arm in both of her hands as they made their way to the island where most of the people seemed to be. "I don't sense anything out of place," Sakura murmured, "Just the expected number of guard shinobi. They're all fairly low ranked." Her eyes flickered to some men and women who were made to look like security and others that were made to blend into the crowd.

Kakashi nodded as he raised his other hand to place it over hers, feeling her tremble slightly at the strain that was being put on her legs. "Should we find a seat and then better assess the situation?"

Sakura nodded at him gratefully as she swept across the pier, graceful due to his support.

The sand of the north beach had been covered over with stiff tatami mats making heeled shoes less difficult to navigate, but still infinitely more frustrating than on simple flat ground.

Kakashi easily spotted tables on the far end of the beach close to where a small buffet of hor d'oerves were being served and steered both of them in the direction of a comfortable chair.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief when pressure was taken off of her feet and resisted the urge to simply kick her shoes off and rub at her heels. "Sorry, I'm used to one inch heels at most, this is a little embarrassing."

"I can't imagine wearing any inch of heel," Kakashi replied with a light tease as he pulled up a chair to sit beside her, "What do you think?"

"I think it all looks very calm, too calm even considering that every single hired hand here is currently on guard." Kakashi nodded in agreement as he swept his gaze over the ever growing crowd of people and noted that although several groups were gathered around the entrance of the grand hall, no one had been allowed in yet. "Did it detail in the letter why the Inoue are here and what the purpose of this party is?"

"No, but we can't rule out simple self indulgence."

Sakura sighed, "Exposing themselves to harm despite the circumstances. How many times have we seen the rich do this?"

"A lot of the time money buys invincibility. If we manage to take care of whatever happens tonight, that is if something happens tonight, then maybe we can get some compensation as well," Kakashi said with a grin on his face.

"Cheap bastard."

"I try." Kakashi looked over at Sakura as she rolled her eyes at him. "Do you want something to eat or drink?"

"Something non-alcoholic please, even if we weren't on a mission I don't think my stomach could handle anything else right now."

"I'll get you something light to eat too," Kakashi replied as he stood up. Sakura mouthed to him a simple thank you as she leaned back on her chair and began observing the goings of the crowd of people around her. Although the shinobi that were acting as security and the shinobi that were blending in the crowd were of lower rank, they were well trained in the art of deception. The security never gave away who those in disguise were and those in disguise paid the security no more attention than any regular person would regard security at such an event.

Kakashi kept his ears open as he gathered a small plate of food for both him and her and grabbed a floral punch for Sakura. The talks of economics and politics all around him gave Kakashi flashbacks to his days as Hokage, reading through mountains of scrolls and deciphering terrible handwriting. No wonder he had gotten distracted from his duties by his first assistant Shikamaru, who also had no time for things such as paperwork, and they had ended up playing shogi for weeks on end after they had accomplished the things that Kakashi had set out to do in his term as Hokage. When Shikamaru had requested to transfer to the reconnaissance unit to join his long time teammates, Kakashi had been glad to see Sakura take his place. Sakura was different than them in that she wasn't motivated only by sizable goals, she was diligent and determined in all aspects from the big to the small and that was what Kakashi had needed. She had put him in his place quickly and easily.

At the time Tsunade was still in Konoha and was directing the hospital with the aid of Shizune, but when he and therefore Sakura had stepped down when Naruto had turned twenty and was ready to assume the role he was born for, Sakura had easily taken up the mantle of Hospital Director. Tsunade had then sought out her life long dream of establishing such a facility in every hidden village in every allied nation. Kakashi had dabbled very little in paperwork ever since while he was sure that Sakura still swam through it confidently between her practical work every single day. Sometimes he wondered why Sakura hadn't continued to assist Naruto, Sasuke and Naruto at times having the same problems that he and Shikamaru had but with spars instead of shogi. However, most of the time he tried to keep his mind off of the role of Hokage all together.

He deemed the political talk that drifted all around him as inconsequential to the threat on the event and so Kakashi lazily floated back to his companion where he was surprised to see that Mizuki was exchanging out Sakura's foot wear for a pair of kitten heels and was quickly pinning the hem of her dress. "Mizuki-chan?"

Sakura looked up at him with large eyes, obviously uncomfortable with the attention she was receiving but it was obvious that if she had protested that a bigger commotion would be made. He could see though by the bite of Sakura's lips and from the heat that was on Sakura's cheeks that she was inwardly raging with embarrassment. Mizuki looked up at him with a smile, a pin between her lips that she quickly transferred to her fingers, "Hello sir," he noticed that she had refrained from saying his name, "My apologies for the intrusion into your evening. I just noticed how uncomfortable your wife was so I thought that I would help."

"Huh?"

Sakura bit her lip again and looked away from him. "Her shoes?" Mizuki suggested, interpreting his surprise incorrectly.

Kakashi stared at the woman, "Uh right my uh, wife's shoes," Kakashi said much smoother than his thoughts were blubbering. This was the second time that they had been mistaken for a married couple and Kakashi could not begin to understand why, "Thank you Mizuki-chan."

"You're welcome," the woman smiled innocently as she stood back up and dusted stray grains of sand from her knees, "I'll take these away," she murmured as she held the three inch heels in her hand and glided away into the crowd.

Kakashi and Sakura stayed in silence for a couple of seconds before Sakura let out a low breath, indicating that she had gotten her inner self under control. "Guess we do look good together?" she muttered under her breath as Kakashi once again took the seat beside her.

Kakashi chuckled as he handed her the drink and then took a couple morsels of food off of the plate for himself, "A compliment to me and an insult to you I'm sure."

Sakura simply rolled her eyes as she punched him lightly on the arm, "You aren't that old and definitely don't look it."

"Ah, but my hair is gray."

"It's silver you buffoon," Sakura giggled as she raised her hand to run it through his disheveled silver locks, "And it looks hip on you."

Kakashi scrunched up his face, "Don't say hip." Sakura laughed openly at the image of the man in the green jumpsuit that had been conjured up in both of their minds.

They finished their food and drinks quickly and decided to roam around on the beach continuing to look for any signs of danger. Two inches shorter now, Sakura's eye level was nearer to his chin and Kakashi couldn't help but whiff up the scent of floral green in her pink hair.

The ninken had been asked to stay behind in the hut, of course, but were ready to be called in at any moment's notice.

"Oh it looks like the grand hall is about to open, let's go see what's happening," Sakura twittered happily as she dragged Kakashi back to the pier and over its long stretch. Just like she had, the other guests had also seen the large doors of the hall swing open. Almost two hours had passed since the start time of the party and the sun had dipped below the horizon, the last of its rays lighting the sky.

As Kakashi and Sakura walked down the pier, lanterns began to light up on the beams mooring the boats creating an effect of walking down a path of stars. Several times they stopped to let people pass them so that they would be able to get a better sense of who was attending the party. Sakura admired the still clear waters and the fish that seemed to be attracted to the light while also keeping her senses keen for any irregularities in the people that passed them by.

As they neared closer to the great hall, Sakura could see that the simple white lanterns that decorated the pier were swapped for an assortment of colourful, round, Chinese, paper lanterns that hung from every beam of the architectural marvel. "It's like we're about to enter an ancient palace," Sakura murmured to Kakashi. He nodded in agreement with her as they neared the large doors and stepped into the grand hall.

Immediately Sakura's jaw dropped as she scanned the hall, rage filling her up from her toes. "What did they expect would happen if they hosted an event for the only intention of show boating their riches?" Sakura hissed under hear breath as she stared at the galleries of priceless paintings on the walls, the display cases filled with ancient weapons, the shelves lined with prized art pieces, and the frames of ancient scrolls.

Kakashi sighed as he rubbed his forehead in irritation, as they swept deeper into the building, "People sometimes."

Just as the last guest behind them was ushered into the building, the doors of the grand hall closed and all of the lights flickered off. Gasps and screams could be heard all around them as Sakura took the opportunity of the commotion to yell out in utter frustration at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Fuck this, fuck everything, this is just a bunch of vacation ruining bullshit!" Kakashi simply gave her a placating pat on the shoulder before Sakura felt a hand grab her arm and yank her away from the copy-nin.

Resisting the urge to jam her fist into the face of the person who had grabbed her, Sakura froze as cold steel was pressed to the skin above her carotid artery, and a low raspy voice murmured into ear, "Don't move or I'll open your pretty little neck." As she was dragged away, Sakura was completely aware that Kakashi had noticed her taking and was quietly following her through the darkness.

The screams seemed to get louder around her before the lights were turned back on. Sakura blinked as dots danced in her vision. She realized quickly that she was now back to the front of the hall in front of the doors, held tightly by a shinobi of fairly mediocre caliber with a whole set of other women and men who were trembling and shaking in the hold of their captors.

Sakura looked at the other hostages noting that none of them looked like they had fought one day in their lives. From how they looked, they all seemed to be rich demure inheritors and belatedly Sakura realized that she was regarded to be as such as well. "It was the damned shoes," Sakura grumbled under her breath. The arm of the man who held her twitched and the kunai pressed harder to her throat. Sakura pushed herself into the body of her captor, his warm breath washing unpleasantly over her ear as Sakura quickly amended, "Uh ahhh, I'm so scared. Please let me go." She resisted the urge to crush the bone in the arm of the man who held her to dust and scanned the crowd for her companion. She found Kakashi easily in the front of the crowd with a ridiculous look of horror on his face. She would normally say that the look was overly exaggerated but scanning the crowd, Sakura realized the the copy-nin was simply copying those that were around him. Sakura had to keep herself from laughing as she realized that she needed to at least look fazed by her hostage situation and slumped in her captors arms as though the whole situation was getting too much for her while still making sure that he didn't accidently open her up to pump blood all over the floor. The man grunted as her weight shifted and Sakura smirked to herself.

As the perpetrators around her sounded out their demands, Sakura kept her gaze on Kakashi as he quickly gestured to all of the priceless objects that they were definitely not rich enough to even think about replacing. In other words, she wasn't allowed to just tear the building apart and drown all of the criminals who were ruining her vacation. Kakashi indicated that they should somehow get to land before she unleashed her unbridled fury and with the wrinkle of her nose Sakura had to agree with his logical though less fun plan.

Everything fell into place when as part of the criminal's demands, the priceless objects of their choice would have to be transported to the island first where their vessel was waiting, and the hostages wouldn't be let go until the ship had sailed a good enough distance away. Sakura didn't really feel like swimming in a fancy dress, so she concluded that this would all be over with before she was forced onto the boat in the first place.

Sakura was made to carry a beautiful sword sheathed in an ornate hilt and a scroll that had been rolled up tightly as her captor pressed his blade to her lower neck to march her down the pier with the other hostages around them. At least her captor had been smart enough to not risk accidently opening her carotid while they walked. Sakura kept herself shaking, mostly because of the cool night air on her skin, and quickly counted the number of hostages and enemy nin.

By her count there were about thirty of each and when she trained her eyes onto the shore, she instantly identified their leader. Obviously a much more skilled shinobi than all of his goons, he looked completely uninterested in everything… except for the sword in her hand. "Good god," Sakura muttered and yelped when she felt the blade slice into her skin close to her collarbone, "Watch what you're doing!" Sakura hissed despite herself and resisted the automatic response to heal the injury.

"Shut up," her captor growled, "Rich young ladies like you have no idea how much danger they are in even when they are face to face with it."

Belatedly Sakura realized, what had happened and how the criminal shinobi had managed to stay hidden in plain sight. Among the captives and even the guests, she hadn't seen either of the Inoue's. They had both skipped out on their own party due to the threat but had thought it a good idea to leave their guests in the metaphorical burning fire with only half of their standard shinobi guard and whoever else the resort could find to deal with the problem. This way they could continue the event without exposing themselves to danger but still be able to flaunt their probably insured wealth. "Rich people," Sakura hissed inside her mouth, making sure that the man wouldn't make an attempt to cut into her even more. This was why she and Kakashi hadn't noticed a difference in number of the shinobi that were meant to be there and those that were at the event, the captors had probably predicted how the Inoue family would react to the letter and had replaced each shinobi kept away from the event with one of their own. The original guard being low level hires hadn't been able to detect the shinobi in the crowd and those that would be told about the possible threat had no way of identifying Inoue guard from other random shinobi. It was a fairly clever move on the part of the ever more haughty looking ringleader.

Sakura reached the sandy shore, one hand on the blade, the other hand grasping the forearm of the enemy shinobi and gritted her teeth as the leader walked towards her. As he got closer Sakura found that she recognized him immediately. A missing nin in the bingo books, "Kurosawa Yun."

"You know who I am," the man grinned as he reach out a hand to caress a lock of hair that had fallen out of her chignon in the struggle, "I should feel flattered that such a beautiful woman should know my name."

Sakura gritted her teeth as she glared at the shinobi, well aware of his unique blood jutsu giving him the moniker of Vampire of the Mist. "You won't get away with this Yun."

He smirked at her as he grabbed the sword in her hand and yanked it out of her grip, kissing her on the neck as he did so. When he drew away, Sakura saw that her blood was on his lips. Sakura growled low in her throat at his actions. When he licked his lips, Sakura shuddered feeling him probe at her mind through the taste of her blood. Before he was able to digest who she was and replicate her strengths by consuming more of her blood, his attention was diverted.

The familiar sound of lightning filled her ears as a purple flash of light burst from behind her. Kurosawa Yun brought his eyes up over her head and raised his eyebrows in what almost seemed like delight, "They got the famous Hatake Kakashi?" The lust in his eyes for that strength was already dripping from his voice.

Sakura quickly swung her arm back and grabbed the neck of the man who held a kunai to her throat and crushed his trachea causing him to instantly release and fall back from her. She grabbed the kunai that was dropped from his hand and launched it at the next closest enemy shinobi; it flew right through his arm, making him let go of his captive. Sakura surged forward and grabbed Kurosawa's arm before he could bring his eyes back down to her, "If you know him, then you should know me too!" Her seal reflected in the light of the next burst of purple lightning.

"Tsunade nigou," Yun muttered with surprise.

She grinned at him, "Guess you missed your chance at getting the power of one of the three legendary sannin," and yanked him forward so that she could plant a heavy blow to the middle of his chest. Only grazing a knuckle against his armour before he dissipated into the darkness, Sakura stumbled before Kakashi appeared at her side and righted her.

"How are the other hostages?" Sakura asked quickly.

"Running back to the hall a little bit terrified but not worse for wear."

"Seems like there's only one formidable opponent that we need to take care of then," Sakura grinned as she punched one fist into her other open hand.

Kakashi chuckled, "The legendary Vampire of the Mist. Let's go."

They ran through the under brush of the undeveloped northern part of Alicante following the trail the man had left behind, the eight ninken in front of them tracking the scent of the missing nin. With a series of sudden yelps in the distance, both Sakura and Kakashi picked up their paces to come to an open clearing where the missing nin had bested all eight of Kakashi's ninken only just throwing Urushi into a tree, blood dripping steadily from the ninken's neck. Kakashi's eyes roamed over each of his companions making sure they were all still breathing, while Sakura quickly assessed when she would get a chance to heal them and how much damage they had taken. "You'll pay for that," Kakashi snarled low in his throat seeing his companions' blood splattered on the Yun's chin and neck.

Now without any armour, it having shattered from the barest of Sakura's touches, the man maniacally licked the blood from his unsheathed sword, "I'd like to see you try."

As Yun attempted to use the ninken's underground attack, Sakura brought her fist to the earth underneath them tearing a crevice through the clearing. Jumping to get out of the way of the flying rocks and cursing profusely, Yun's eyes widened as he came face to face with Kakashi and his purple lightning technique in the air.

Between Sakura's destruction of the earth and Kakashi's command of the sky, even the famous Kurosawa Yun was not able to get away. No one lasted longer than a couple minutes when fighting against the duo. They had long perfected their team strategy.

The missing nin shot straight back down to earth from the blow that was inflicted on him as Sakura ran to gather the eight ninken and tend to their blood loss and injuries.

Kakashi walked through the dirt and debris clouding the night air to find Yun in a small crater in the ground, "Didn't have to try that hard now did we?" Kakashi growled thinking of his dogs playing in the water just the previous day and shifting his eyes to the green glow that emanating over them now. Kakashi was rarely angry, but no one messed with his ninken. Kakashi cracked his knuckles, preparing to do some real damage to the man who had dared try to hurt his dogs.

When they returned to the beach with the missing nin being carried over Sakura's shoulder they found that the remains of the Inoue shinobi security team was already taking care of the rest of the unconscious thieves.

Sakura ungracefully dropped the missing nin on the ground in a pile of his own broken bones and dusted her hands of the blood sucking creep. Suddenly feeling warm fingers on her neck she looked up to her right to see Kakashi gazing at her, "You haven't healed yourself yet," he murmured quietly.

Sakura blinked her large green eyes as she nodded in realization and brought her hand up to flood the small cut with her green chakra, "Thank you," she whispered to him. His eyes crinkled as a small smile pulled on his face and they looked up to see Mizuki and an older gentleman make their way over to them.

"Kakashi-san, this is my boss," Mizuki introduced quickly as she bowed deeply.

The older gentleman took a step forward and held out a hand for both of them to shake, "Thank you very much for taking care of this situation for us. The Inoue family and we could not be any more grateful. We did not lose a single item in the events of the night."

"You're welcome," Kakashi said easily wondering if any of the guests had attempted to loot the grand hall in all of the mess.

"Please know that your stay with us at the resort will be free of charge."

Kakashi and Sakura looked at each other in mild exasperation and understanding but they turned back to the man with smiles on their faces, "Thank you."

That night, after the duo had returned to their hut exhausted, had changed out of their formal attire and was comfortable in their bed, the recovering ninken got extra cuddles.

* * *

When Sakura woke in the middle of the night, it was to the light touch of fingers against her collarbone. They were feathery and gentle and warm. She opened her green eyes to come face to face with Kakashi's slate gray ones. "What are you doing Kakashi?"

"Sorry for waking you," he whispered softly as he looked at her with an expression that she couldn't quite recognize between her blurry vision and the moonlight streaming through the windows.

"It's okay," Sakura yawned as she blinked a couple times to get the grog out of her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. You can go back to sleep" Kakashi murmured with a small smile pulling his hand away from her neck. Sakura watched the corners of his mouth curve up easily, one side ever so slightly lower than the other. Even if she had been privy to his face for nearly half a decade now, the novelty would never get old.

Sakura reached out and cupped Kakashi's cheek, "The ninken are okay Kakashi." His face seemed to twitch ever so slightly as they brought their gaze to the snoring dogs surrounding them on the bed.

"And you?" he seemed to timidly ask.

"It was just a small cut, nothing I can't handle."

"But if it was just a little more to the—"

"If he had hit my artery I would have dropped the act right away and healed myself."

Kakashi sighed, "Of course you would have. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Sakura murmured as she brought her face close to Kakashi's in comfort, placing her forehead on his. "I'm not going any where."

Kakashi brought his hand up to hers cupping his cheek and squeezed her hand tightly, "Thank you."

And then she fell back to sleep, her hand in his. He followed soon after with the comfort of her living warmth radiating into him.

* * *

Thank you to Red Reaper88, Snowdonia Hawkweed, Lady AlyseB630, and tiny . sakura for reviewing!

 **Secret's Corner**

I'm terrible at fight scenes, so they won't be happening very often but I hope that it was good enough though brief. Really though, I don't think anyone would last very long with Kakashi and Sakura tag teaming them. Trying to even come up with a missing nin was tough though. All I could think about when I mentioned vampires was Twilight... even though I was going more for Dracula.


	6. Act I, Scene VI

Because one can't help but make fun of Kakashi.

This story is slowing growing into an out of control monstrosity. I can't stop thinking about it. I must keep writing, just gotta keep writing.

* * *

 **Act I, Scene VI:**

"Come on Kakashi! You can walk on water!" Sakura laughed as she placed her hands on her knees and leaned forward ever so slightly so that she would be able to look into the clear water of the open ocean, "This really shouldn't be that hard!"

Kakashi's bobbing head simply glared at her as he threw his arms into the air and back on the paddleboard, hoisting himself up in one smooth movement. Although Kakashi had the finesse of a shinobi of many years, that didn't necessarily mean that the ocean was going to cooperate with him. So like many other times that morning, the board skidded across the water ever so slightly at the pressure that he had exerted on it resulting in Kakashi feeling like a beached whale rather than a majestic unicorn, or what ever else rode paddleboards elegantly, as his feet kicked desperately on one side of the board while he tried to angle his upper body back on from the other side. Kakashi muttered under his breath with frustration as he managed to flip himself ninety degrees so that his whole body was laid prone on the board his cheek pressed flush against the hard surface.

"Now you just got to stand up!"

Kakashi resisted the urge to scream, "What do you think I've been trying to do for the past ten minutes!" and bit on his lip instead as he used his upper body strength to get on his feet. The board wavered on the water again and Kakashi felt his arms flying outwards for balance and his knees bending to a ninety degree angle for stabilization despite himself and waited. Two seconds later, he was still on his feet. He looked up at Sakura, his slate eyes shining in triumph.

Sakura straightened up and clapped her hands both delightedly and teasingly before she bent at the waist to grab the two paddles by her feet on her own board. Tucking one into the crook of her arm, she used her own to paddle herself so that she would be beside Kakashi. "Here, now this," Sakura grinned as she reached across to hand him his paddle. Looking down, Sakura's eyebrows shot into her hairline as she pulled her arm, with the paddle that Kakashi was making a grab for, to his dismay, back. Kakashi's legs shook as he concentrated on keeping his balance. "Are you using chakra to stand on your paddle board Kakashi?"

"Just… just give me the paddle Sakura," Kakashi hissed out between clenched teeth trying to pretend that he wasn't completely aware of the face that his face was heated in embarrassment and Sakura was obviously delighted by it.

"Who knew that the famous Hatake Kakashi would be bested by water sports," Sakura continued to tease as she held the paddle back out to him.

"I can do other things, just not this. I'm a shinobi of the land, not the sea," Kakashi continued to hiss obstinately.

Sakura quirked an eyebrow in amusement, "That was apparent the day you screamed at a fish."

"It was a very big whale shark!" Kakashi snapped as his cheeks stayed heated. He would later blame the sun for the colour if Sakura ever dared to mention it, which was guaranteed she would.

Kakashi made a grab for his paddle, needing to prove that he could do this. He was Hatake Kakashi, the man that had once had the sharingan despite not being an Uchiha, the famed copy-nin, the Rokudaime Hokage; he could balance on a paddleboard! His hand closed around the handle of the oar. His arm was coming back to his side. Sakura was giving him an encouraging smile. The oar was now officially in his complete possession. And then suddenly a tiny wave hit his board and the new balance of the oar sent Kakashi dramatically flying backwards.

Looking up at the sky in resignation, Kakashi rued the second he had let Sakura choose their afternoon activity and how trees were just so much better than foam boards on water.

With a loud splash Kakashi was back in the ocean and Sakura was on her knees and elbows laughing on her own board, fist smacking into the foam. She was barely able to get words out between her near sobs of laughter as Kakashi's head once again bobbed to the surface, his slate eyes narrowed at her. "I never in my life!" Sakura giggled in hysterics.

Kakashi was done with trying to paddleboard. Why paddleboard when you could just walk on water anyways? There was no reason he had to be good at this. No reason at all.

So Kakashi swam over to Sakura's paddleboard and in a childish tantrum he flipped her off. The sound of her scream and the splash that followed was music to Kakashi's ears, healing him of all of his prior embarrassment.

A mass of pink hair burst out of the water in front of him as Sakura raged, "You complete ass!"

Kakashi just shrugged indifferently, although the satisfied grin on his face gave away his complete pleasure at seeing her down at his level. "The water is just so nice Sakura, I just thought that you would like to join me."

Sakura pounced on him and suddenly bubbles surrounded them as they floated a meter below the water surface and wrestled in the deep blue. Kakashi easily dodged Sakura's grabbing hands as bursts of bubbles came from her mouth, her hair swaying around her face like that of a monster. He saw her head surface and giving her the moment she needed to get air, he popped up behind her and with a flick of his wrists at her shoulders, she was once again back down under. Taking in a breath of air himself, he was not surprised when he felt a strong hand grab his ankle and suddenly he couldn't see the horizon yet again.

Under the waves he came face to face with Sakura's sparkling green eyes, a devious smile suddenly appearing on her face as she had transferred her hold on his ankle to a tight hold on his wrist. Fearing for the worse when Sakura's hand lifted up and her finger popped out to point behind him, Kakashi turned in the water column.

With a surprised jolt and a high-pitched scream, luckily muffled by the whole entire ocean, Kakashi pushed himself to the surface of the water to hear Sakura's cackles surface right beside him. "I will never get over the fact that big fish scare you so much!" Sakura giggled as she rested her arms on her abandoned paddleboard and her forehead on her arms, her chest positively heaving.

"That was a barracuda!" Kakashi argued in his defense while looking in the water to make sure that the large fish had gone on its way, "They like shiny things!" He grabbed at his silver hair, "Shiny things!"

Sakura turned her head, her cheek now resting on her arms as she grinned widely at him panting from all of her laughter, "Guess that means you'll have to get on your paddleboard to avoid it."

If Kakashi were only a tad more impulsive, he would have thrown the oar at her.

* * *

"I cannot believe what I am seeing," Kakashi muttered as he stuffed take out into his face from their comfortable spot on the veranda.

"What? You mean that all eight of your ninken are better at paddle boarding than you are?" In the distance, two paddleboards each with four shadows on them were floating around on the open water.

Kakashi frowned as he stuffed more food in his face, hating how his view of the twilight horizon was being obstructed. Sakura laughed, "There, there. Have some more charshu; it'll cheer you up." Using her chopsticks she dropped a large piece of pork into Kakashi's dish and smiled at him.

Kakashi looked at her gratefully, although extra charshu would never be able to heal the humiliation he had suffered that day. In the morning, they had had a lazy lie in, partly because they didn't want to move after the events of the previous night, but mostly because Bull wouldn't get off of their respective legs. When Bull had decided that he wanted his boss to get him food, it was a journey to the mainland that was punctuated by the demanding howls of eight very hungry and healthy dogs.

When they had arrived to shore, Mizuki had been waiting for them, informing them that in addition to their stay at the resort being free of charge, they could also partake in any of the activities on Alicante that would normally have cost them extra. Paddle boarding had been entirely Sakura's idea and now Kakashi was thinking as hard as he could for a way to humiliate the pink haired medic in return. Being ever graceful, but more importantly, ever controlled in her chakra, Kakashi was coming up short with ways to physically humiliate her. He had considered asking for one of the theatres to be booked so that he could force Sakura into a private viewing of Icha Icha The Movie, but then he had remembered that he had introduced her to the damn series and she had even had the audacity to like it. She stole parts of his collection quite often and every once in a while he would have to do a mass exodus of his volumes from her apartment. None of that had gone as he had originally planned.

Kakashi sighed, "Where are the days when you were so easy to tease?"

Sakura grinned as she put a hand on Kakashi's shoulder, "And where are the days where you were cool, mysterious and aloof?" Sakura burst out into giggles as Kakashi put her into a headlock and mussed with her hair.

* * *

The ninken had returned to the hut as soon as the sky became awash with stars and Sakura happily gave them all belly rubs as she walked around the veranda turning on the lanterns, lighting up their hut and the clear water beneath. Shoals of fish swam under the light and at one point Sakura had even seen a turtle pop its head up to stare languidly at her before diving back down into the murky darkness that was the seemingly endless sea.

Sakura then stood on the veranda, her chin on her crossed arms and her back hunched, staring toward the lit resort, silhouettes of little huts obstructing her view of the beach and the people meandering back and forth on the sand. She could hear the loud music from the club playing slow tunes that night making her sway ever so slightly with the beat and hum underneath her breath as the ocean breeze picked up the hem of her shirt. "I'm almost sad to go, but I'm also glad to return," Sakura murmured when she heard the sound of footsteps coming up behind her.

Kakashi leaned on the veranda, the cool sea breeze mussing with his damp hair, "Will you also be continuing your hospitals duties while also taking the role as the Hokage's assistant?" Kakashi reached out a foot to scratch Bull behind the ears, the large dog grunting in pleasure.

"Somewhat, I'll drop by to do some charting and maybe one or two operations. That is if the hospital hasn't fallen apart in my absence," Sakura laughed feeling her palms itch with the need to feel her chakra concentrated in them. "I'm kind of glad now for that little scuffle we had even if it cut up our vacation a bit, I think I would have been done with this sooner if we hadn't had it."

"You need to be better at taking vacations Sakura," Kakashi admonished.

Sakura laughed, "You do too."

Kakashi shrugged, "It was tolerable with you."

Sakura turned toward Kakashi, their bodies now facing each other as the lanterns of the veranda flickered around them, "I'm glad that I'm tolerable," Sakura teased as she reached out a hand to lightly push on his shoulder.

Kakashi chuckled as he caught her hand in his before she could do her non-damage and pulled her slowly away from the railing. Sakura's bare feet stumbled slightly as all of Kakashi's ninken perked up to see their master and their friend began to dance together to the gentle music.

Sakura couldn't recall exactly when they had started dancing with each other just for fun; they had begun dancing together during Kakashi's term as Hokage at special events where he was either required to dance with someone or as it came to be, when he needed a reprieve from all of the attention. Sakura had always been his preferred partner even before she had become his assistant, but there hadn't been any reason for them to continue such pleasantries after he had stepped down and was no longer required to stick around during diplomatic evenings. But they did every time they ran into each other at the bar or social events that Naruto, Ino, or Genma demanded they come to. Sakura loved dancing and Kakashi couldn't deny Sakura her joy, not caring to mention that she could just dance with anyone else or that it made him happy too. One night when she had visited him at his apartment to check up on his healing progress after a particularly grueling mission, he had noticed that she was exhausted and feeling down due to the loss of one of her patients. That night they had started dancing together without needing the excuse of social niceties, away from the world and had fallen into the habit ever since.

Sakura giggled as Kakashi led her into a twirl, her pink hair flying around her face and then falling haphazardly over her eyes. When her body shifted naturally into his arms Kakashi led her around the veranda in slow, graceful steps, both of them laughing and whispering to each other between twirls and spins trying not to step on puppy paws or fall into the clear ocean as they twisted and turned around each other to the beat of the distant music. The ninken bounded up and around them, growling and barking in glee as they all danced together on their last night in Alicante.

That night they slept for the last time to the sound of the warm waves of the ocean washing all around them. Glittering and silvery fish surrounded them as they swam through the water in their dreams, laughing as though being together was the most natural thing in the world.

* * *

The next day the two of them spent most of the morning packing their stuff so that they would be ready for their departure late that afternoon and then they spent the rest of their time in Alicante in the water and on the beach. Kakashi hadn't jumped or screamed when they had swam into the sea turtle that Sakura was sure was the one she had seen the previous night and she couldn't help but coo teasingly at him for his great accomplishment.

Kakashi, in return, had managed to convince Sakura to ride on the back of a jet ski that he was steering and the sound of her terrified squeals and her fingers digging into his abdomen as she clutched onto him for dear life made him feel better than anything. Sure he wasn't able to tease her the way that she teased him but this was objectively better as he skidded between the huts and out to the open ocean while she cursed at him all the while. When he had stopped a fair distance from Alicante Sakura had demanded that she simply be allowed to swim or walk back to the beach but he had only given her enough time to catch her breath and voice her demands before he was off again. Kakashi laughed loudly when her arms once again immediately clamped down around his waist, not minding that she was definitely attempting to squeeze the life out of him.

When it was about time for them to leave, Kakashi had freed her from the horror that was the jet ski and she had nearly collapsed on the beach shaking from fright. While Sakura was lying on the sand taking a breather Kakashi had retrieved their bags from their hut and returned their rarely used canoe and oars to the man in the shack. It had taken some prodding with his big toe to get Sakura to stop pouting at him but when the sound of their transport arriving to Alicante could be heard over the din of the resort, they had both looked at each other and realized that it was over. They were going home.

The boat ride and the subsequent journey from the port in Fire to Konoha was uneventful. They had taken shifts during their one night of travel in the forest. The sound of the wind rustling through the trees was enough like the waves that both of them had managed to fall asleep quickly and had stayed asleep soundly during their respective shifts.

When Sakura woke the next morning to shadows over her face and the smell of dew rather than salt, she was almost disoriented until she had turned and saw that Kakashi was still beside her on their shared bedroll, reading in the morning light.

They had been greeted at the gates of Konoha by a passive Sasuke and an excited but confused Hokage who had immediately bee-lined to hug Sakura tightly and then stage whisper into her ear, "Why did I get a refund on your trip?"

Stories of their adventure were shared that night in Ichiraku as Sakura went on and on about Kakashi's unjust treatment of her that morning without going into detail of all the ways that she had teased him. Kakashi had set the story straight, though was vague on the details, but Sakura couldn't help herself and elaborated grandly with gestures and giggles, immediately implicating her guiltiness, but it was all worth it to share the laughter with her teammates. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke were surprised that it was actually Sakura who had started it all.

And then for the first time in a week, Kakashi and Sakura did not sleep by each other's side.

* * *

"Neither the job or the robe suit you, do they?" Sakura frowned as the four of them stood at the entrance to Konoha again the next day.

Kakashi sighed as he adjusted his Hokage robes and his Hokage hat feeling as out of place as he looked. It had been around two years since he had donned either of the garments and he had hoped to be completely rid of them when he had stepped down so that his ex-student would be able to take his place.

"It'll only be for a month at most Kakashi," Naruto grinned as he adjusted the pack on his back, a weight that was now unfamiliar to him but welcome. Usually when he travelled as the Hokage there was an envoy to carry his things for him and Naruto like many Hokage before him, hated it. Unlike Hokage before him, Naruto had made a game of it, testing the limits of what his ANBU were willing to handle and what they were not. Live crabs in mesh bags were a hard no. Sasuke stood by Naruto's side with his own bag and when Sakura had inquired whether or not they had remembered to bring everything they needed, she was reassured by the fact that Sasuke had packed both of their bags for them.

"Make it a week," Kakashi muttered.

"But that's no fun," Naruto grinned. At the look on Kakashi's face the blonde merely chuckled, "Don't worry, we'll come back as soon as possible."

"Hn," Sasuke agreed.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of the place while you're gone," Sakura smiled.

"I wouldn't expect any less from either of you," Naruto grinned, "How many times have you poked your head into the hospital since you've been back Sakura-chan?"

"…Three."

"Lies," Sasuke said.

"Okay, seven, but I missed it!"

"I'll miss it too," Naruto reassured as he looked towards the Hokage tower and the Hokage monument with its seven heads, the seventh obvious being the best looking one, "I'll see you two soon."

"Come back safely," Sakura murmured as she stepped forward and gave Naruto a hug and then moved to give Sasuke one too, though notably with less grappling. Kakashi merely saluted a goodbye and the duo watched Naruto and Sasuke until they disappeared beyond the horizon. Letting out a long sigh Sakura turned her head to Kakashi, "Ready?"

"Maybe."

"Wanna make a bet that Naruto left all of the paperwork from last week for us to do too?"

"That's an unfair wager Sakura."

The both of them snorted in laughter as they made their way back to the Hokage tower.

* * *

Thank you to Azerate, Karen, Affectionate, SakuraxKakashi Fan, Red Reaper88, KibouNoKuro, Lady AlyseB630, Revanchist21 and Loulou713 for reviewing. All the reviews this chapter made my heart soar.

 **Secret's Corner**

So that's the end of their vacation... but now comes the fun Hokage stuff.

I'm not really all that happy with the current story summary, but I'm not sure what to do without giving away the plot... does any one have suggestions for a more... I dunno...alluring one? OH, I think I may have one... but maybe I'll wait until a future chapter to change it. Suggestions still welcome though. Lots of love to you all!


	7. Act I, Scene VII

I think this chapter is going to address something that people were wondering about. Thank you for being patient with me. I love and appreciate everyone's reviews whether it be from praise or comments, it helps me develop this into a better story and I always love to hear what you think!

The burn in slow, but ignite it eventually will.

* * *

 **Act I, Scene VII:**

Dull, dull, dull. Kakashi wanted to slam his head against his desk, paper work was the most dull and as they both had bet, Naruto had left all of his paperwork from the week they had gone on vacation behind. Whether it was on purpose or if it had been because Naruto was so excited that he was finally getting to go on a mission as a jonin again rather than as the Hokage and had simply forgotten in the fracas, it didn't matter one bit for Kakashi, he was going to kill his successor when he got back. Except that performing high treason could possibly permanently land him in this position again so maybe Kakashi would just maim Naruto somewhat. Or even worse, create an irreversible decree that would ban Naruto from eating at Ichiraku for at least a month after his return.

Kakashi determined that being the acting Hokage was worse than being the actual Hokage since Kakashi had not been informed of what Naruto was doing in terms of reform when it came to Konoha and Fire's relationships with other countries and Kakashi had already dismantled the council of elders and their horrific, traditional practices when he had reigned. All there was left to do in the village then was paperwork. It was taking away the best part of the job and just increasing the worst. Kakashi made a note to himself to wrangle all of the political dealings out of Naruto if he were to ever take this acting role again even if it would kill him inside to have to listen to it all. Maybe Kakashi would consider not doing any of the paperwork and just roam around the city checking up on the progress of the reforms he had instigated… not that he didn't already do this every week even after stepping down, but he would increase it to everyday to get out of this office. But… sadly or maybe luckily, there was someone with more fortitude than he making sure that he wouldn't slack of that much.

A hot cup of tea was set in front of him as the package of paper that he was combing over was pulled out from his hands. When Kakashi looked up he saw that Sakura was back from her break… her break to work more at the hospital and flipping through his worst enemy. "This looks dull," Sakura muttered and looked up at him with pitying eyes, "No wonder you've been reading it since I've left."

It had been several days since Naruto and Sasuke had departed and Kakashi was counting backwards towards the one week mark. Kakashi was definitely not just setting himself up for disappointment; they were a remarkable duo, he was sure they would get back in the minimum amount of time so that he would be able to retain the maximum amount of sanity.

There was still a stack of paperwork that reached above his head on his desk not for lack of trying. Up until that morning the stack had almost been reduced down to a size that even he couldn't complain about, that size being one document, but then the genin had graduated from the academy.

Kakashi rubbed at his eyes, "I swear that Naruto planned this."

"Sasuke-kun definitely did."

"Right."

"I'll take this one since you seem to quickly be heading nowhere with it, and give me the team assignments, I know the kids and this generation of instructors better than you. Everyone comes into the hospital often enough with bumps and bruises." Kakashi nodded as he took half of the pile of paperwork and stood up. "I can carry it to my own desk you know," Sakura laughed as Kakashi hefted the pile into his arms and rounded around the desk.

"Please, let me have a semblance of physical activity. I am this close to going out and finding Gai for a challenge." Sakura could only continue to laugh at his dramatics as he ambled across the office to place the neat stack on her desk. He sighed and leaned on the desk for a second, as though he hadn't straightened his abdomen in days and stretched his arms to the sky while cracking his back. "Honestly, thank you Sakura. I know you never had to do this… not even since the beginning."

"Well Ino-pig missed Shikamaru in intelligence, the pig wouldn't shut up for even a single day about him, and honestly… you two were useless together after the both of you accomplished what you had both set out to do. Never put two geniuses in a room alone with no real objective in mind."

"I wouldn't say you're not a genius."

"I would definitely say I'm not a genius," Sakura smiled as she walked over to Kakashi and patted him on the cheek, "And that... my dear Hokage-sama, is for the better. All you literally have to do now is sign a bunch of certificates and even that is too much for you."

Kakashi allowed his gaze to follow Sakura as she rounded around the desk and sat down at her desk, readjusting her long, white lab coat as she did so, and then she flipped the document that he had been previously reading back to the beginning, which was only a turn of three pages in a ten page spread.

Kakashi allowed a smile on his face, "I don't know what I would do without you Sakura."

"Wither and die? Drown in a sea of paper?"

"You are right." He reached out a hand and tussled her hair.

Sakura scowled at him playfully before she swiped his hand away. "I didn't take away all of your paperwork, you still have the majority of it to take care of. Now get."

"I don't know how you do it. I've seen your office, the paperwork here is like a child's bedtime story compared to the charting you have to do."

"It's because Shizune taught me discipline when it comes to paperwork. All medics have to chart in order to do their job properly, well almost all."

"Not Tsunade."

Sakura scoffed at the mere suggestion. Tsunade, much like many other geniuses, hadn't just shirked her paperwork as the Hokage, but also as a medic. The woman though could remember everything about every person she had ever treated, something no one else could do, and why she could get away with less than immaculate records.

Shaking his head Kakashi pushed himself off of her desk and returned to his own. Before picking up the next certificate, Kakashi wrapped his hands around the cup of tea that Sakura had placed in front of him and sighed in bliss at the warmth that infused the skin of his hands. Pulling down his mask and taking a small sip, he was delighted to find out that Sakura hadn't forgotten that he liked his tea just a touch differently when he was groaning and moaning about paperwork.

The warmth of the drink and the woman working beside him in his office inspired Kakashi to not complain about his duties for at least the next hour…. Maybe. Something about her made him inexplicably content even when he wanted to be a big baby.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Kakashi pulled up his mask again. "Come in," Kakashi sighed as he tapped his pen on the table. Sakura rolled her eyes, not taking her eyes off of her own document as Kakashi made himself look like he was swamped and rudely interrupted.

A young chunin, one that Kakashi recognized from the admittance desk down stairs, popped his head into the door. "My apologies for the intrusion Rokudaime. Um… there is someone here requesting for the presence of the Hokage."

Before Kakashi could react, Sakura easily bookmarked her place in the ten page, dull, document and stood up. "I'll take care of it. Hokage-sama, and when I get back…"

"I'll be working," Kakashi muttered with a wave of his hand. Sakura looked at him with a smile, knowing that it was very likely she would not find him working when she got back, before she walked out of the door. It was a routine that Tsunade had started, mostly because Shizune was often not hung over, but it had easily continued with the successive Hokage and their assistants. Any visitors would have to talk to the assistant first, the Hokage after only if the assistant couldn't solve the problem. Before this, the Sandaime and the Yondaime had been gracious and kind enough to meet with all their visitors personally, but this had led to several incidents involving failed assassination attempts and several hour placating sessions with shinobi that felt like they deserved more than they could handle. Not being Hokage, as the assistant was, gave those like Shizune, Sakura, and Sasuke more leeway to turn people away, whether it be to Ibiki or to the local bartenders, who were much more adept at listening to woes.

Kakashi riffled through several certificates noting that the children were learning more about the arts, science, and teamwork rather than just the ability to kill in their young education. Kakashi basked in the pride from the fact that this was a change he had enacted during his term. He wanted kids to have the time to be kids. Although he had become famous and revered for ranking as a jonin by the age of ten, it had taken things from him, too many things, things that he would never be able to get back. Kakashi closed his eyes and placed his hands on the stack of academy graduate certificates, hoping with all his heart that every single one of them would be able to live in a world conquered by peace and that none of them would ever have to suffer even one of the losses that he had suffered.

The sound of Sakura's footsteps echoed outside his door, a pattern that Kakashi knew by heart. He shuffled the papers around his desk awkwardly, realizing he hadn't signed a single thing since she had left having once again gotten lost on the road of life. He looked up at the door, ready and armed with excuses, but immediately his eyebrows pulled together in concern as the door creaked open and Sakura stepped inside.

Outwardly, Sakura didn't look all that unusual. She had a flush on her face and her hands were clenched in frustration, typical of most interactions with people who demanded to see the Hokage on short term notice, but there was something else that seemed to be hanging in the air. Something that Kakashi couldn't quite place, but something he knew he did not like one bit. "Are you okay Sakura?" Kakashi asked her sincerely as he felt his body stand up on its own to move towards her, to give her comfort from whatever was bothering her.

Sakura seemed to snap a little bit out of her daze as she smiled at him, a smile that wasn't quite right, "Everything's fine." Her gaze drifted to the scar over his left eye as he approached her, placed his hands on her shoulders, and squeezed gently.

"Who was it downstairs?" Kakashi asked slowly, not really caring about the answer as much as how knowing the answer would help him determine why Sakura was suddenly feeling down.

"Just one of the elders from the Lee clan. They of course were demanding to have one of their recently graduated clansmen be put with a specific instructor."

"Hm…"

"Asked if their cherub could have Naruto himself actually," Sakura laughed dryly as she placed her hands on top of his, giving them a reassuring squeeze before she walked over to her desk, leaving him standing in the middle of the office just gazing at her intently yet tenderly. "No wonder Lee hates being accidently associated with them." Sakura swiped her hand across the wood of her desk, a tic of distress that Kakashi had seen her do many times when she had been his assistant during the second half of his reign as Hokage. His eyebrows scrunched, he never had gotten down to the bottom of it.

"And you said?"

"That Hojou-kun would be put with a team that works best for him."

"And they said?"

"That I better not put little Hojou-kun with just anybody, you know?"

"Unbelievable," Kakashi sighed as he went over to her desk and sat on the edge, turning his body so that he could continue to regard her. His heart beat in his chest loudly, protesting vehemently again the air of uncertainty that was surrounding the pink haired medic.

"I mean it's still a mentality around here as much as you tried to dissuade it," Sakura sighed as she sat down in her chair and leaned back with an empty look at the ceiling, "Thank goodness the village heros came from the Uchiha clan and the Uzumaki clan."

"Pretty unsavory opinion, if I dare say so myself," Kakashi muttered darkly, feeling an ingrained sense of annoyance flourish in him, "It was with the effort of every shinobi out there during the wars that we are still here, to consider any one of them as just anybody is preposterous."

Sakura smiled at him, a smile more genuine than it had been before, "You're right. And you sought to make sure that opinions like that would no longer have power." Sakura reached her hand out to touch Kakashi's hand, before she receded. She picked up the document that she was almost finished reading, tapped it on the desk, and continued reading it.

Kakashi continued to stare at Sakura for a moment longer, noting that she was still not completely right, and even ignoring him in favour of his work. Sakura might have been diligent beyond any other's capability, but she always held a conversation with him when he wanted to have one with her and even when he didn't. How she got as much done as she did was beyond him. That was why it was so unlike her to shut him out these days and seeing her not content made his chest squeeze tightly and the blood rush in his ears. He hated seeing her distressed. He had seen it enough already in his lifetime. He had done so little to help her too many times early in their acquaintance and their subsequent companionship had revealed how much he had let her down. He hadn't taken her feelings and traumas seriously when she had just been a genin, and when he had worked with her again after she had become a chunin, he had done everything in his power to just listen and understand what it was she went through. He had tried to make up for being a terrible sensei by being a good friend. She had told him one night after the war how much it meant to her that he had tried. How much it meant to her that he was there when she had woken up from the genjutsu Sasuke had casted on her. Of course, he had replied, she was one of his most important people, now his most important person. He would have stayed by her side forever. He didn't want to see it anymore. He didn't want to feel helpless when it came to her anymore.

* * *

That evening, in a concerted effort to make her feel better, Kakashi had asked Sakura to his apartment for dinner, even offering to cook. She had agreed easily, but not before asking to head to the hospital to check up on everything before the building slowed down for the night. Kakashi simply waited outside of its doors for her and noted that the smell that diffused out of the building. No matter how many times he had stood in front of these doors waiting for her, he would never be able to get over the relief he felt that the building where shinobi like him had once gone to die, was now the place that shinobi like him could go to flirt with the nurses and get smacked down for it.

Kakashi blinked as Sakura walked out, waving at those that were behind her. The tight feeling in his chest eased as he saw the soft sway in which she walked and the fact that her hands were no longer tense. "Do you want me to take that?" Kakashi asked as he gestured at the long white coat that was draped over her arm.

"I think I can handle it on my own," Sakura laughed again as she clenched the arm with the coat closer to her body, "Kakashi-senpai."

"I thought a week would have gotten you over this," Kakashi pouted as they both naturally turned down the road to walk towards his place, their feet clattering on the stone of the Konoha streets, their bodies almost brushing.

"Formalities are important in the city, especially while you are acting as the Hokage Kakashi-senpai."

"If you're going to insist on non-existent formalities, then what about Hokage-sama while I'm still doing this terrible favour and then just Kakashi after. We are equals otherwise Sakura."

Sakura merely shook her head. She looked up at him and the scar on his left eye, her green ones suddenly shining with a dark emotion. A thought seemed to suddenly shoot through her mind, turning her whole entire countenance around. Her shoulders suddenly slumped, her hands curled and she was huddling herself as though trying to protect herself from the world. The scent of tears suddenly washed over Kakashi's senses even though she had now turned away from him.

Kakashi's eyes widened at the sudden change as he stopped in his tracks and couldn't help but grab Sakura's shoulders and turn her to him, effectively stopping her too. "What's wrong Sakura? What happened today?"

"It's childish, please don't mind me. I'll be okay." Sakura was looking down at the ground, away from Kakashi, trying to hide her face.

"Sakura, if you really don't want to talk about it, I'll respect that, but know that I want to hear you out, childish or not."

Sakura pushed her hair behind her ear as the wind suddenly picked up raising the hair on her arms. She seemed to pause for a moment, contemplating if she wanted to tell him what was on her mind before she let out a soft, long sigh and looked up at him with watery eyes. "I…Well, while I was putting the genin teams together, I thought about us and our old team, Team 7. It brought back some memories, I guess… good… and bad. I suppose I'm just remembering all of those times that you, Naruto, and Sasuke had to save my pathetic ass. Not when I was just a kid too, but also after, and the number of times you had to jump in when I had decided to try and kill Sasuke, and oh god… during the war I was just-" Sakura sighed as she lowered her head again so that she was staring at the ground that was between their shoes, "Sorry, I suppose I'm just really scattered right now. I told you that it was all just nonsense."

"None of that was nonsense Sakura."

"You don't want to hear it."

"I do, trust me, I do." Kakashi sighed, "I want to be better Sakura…"

Suddenly her fingers were running at the corner of his eye again, but this time not caressing his crow's feet. Kakashi nearly jolted from the speed of her movement but was able to just hold still as he felt the pads of her fingers gently caress his skin. "I'm glad that Naruto was able to do this for you." Her voice halting, choked up.

Kakashi stood there, not understanding why she was saying what she was saying. "It was lucky that he was there," Kakashi said slowly, watching her expression intently, "But I would have been fine with having just one eye too."

"I guess, but it's better to have two rather than one… and even with all the healing powers in the world, even with the strength of a hundred seal… even though I had been right there with you… I never would have been able to do this for you."

Kakashi's eyes widened in realization before they softened and he brought a hand up behind her head and cradled her in for a close embrace wanting to support her with everything that he had, "Let it all out Sakura."

Sakura gripped onto his shirt and he felt her hot angry tears begin to soak through, her shoulders shaking as she held onto him as though he were her lifeline. "I'm so glad that Naruto was able to do this for you, but I also hate that he was able to do it too. There are days when I can't even look at him, especially the days that I lose someone and sometime I feel… sometimes…" She seemed to consider her words and recoil.

"You're not selfish for expressing resentment Sakura."

"It isn't fair," Sakura sobbed as a shudder wracked her whole body. Kakashi held her tighter, feeling his heart beat wrench as her pain, "I just feel so useless sometimes. Like there's just nothing I can do that others can't too. That I'm redundant, unneeded, unnecessary."

"Sakura, listen to me," Kakashi murmured gently as he brought his hands to either side of her face to gently lift her head so that she would have to look him straight in the eyes. Her green eyes glistened with unshed tears, "You are your own person, unique and talented in your own ways. There is no one in the world like you. You can't be redundant; you are definitely not unneeded or unnecessary. You can be mad, of course, you should be mad even that there are people out there who are simply born with or given abilities while there are those like you who have had to pour blood, sweat, and tears into mastering a task."

Sakura hiccupped as she squeezed her eyes shut, "I just feel so… so pointless sometimes."

Kakashi shook his head and brought her in again, encompassing her in the safety of his arms where no one could touch her. "Sakura, you can do something that neither Naruto, nor Sasuke, nor I can do; you can save a dying man's life, not just because you _can_ do it, but because you _want_ to do it. It is too often that such a mindset is taken for granted, but in that war, Sakura, if you hadn't been there, there would have been so many more fatalities, so many more life changing injuries, and just that much more tragedy. Naruto maybe could have mass healed everyone, but you and I both know he never would have even considered doing so. Giving me my eye was a whim of power that he maybe never be able to harness again. His will is to fight, to keep moving forward, not to heal and I was just a special case. You do though Sakura, you always think of others first, whether it be to your benefit or detriment. Naruto's kind hearted, but he's not you. I know that it's hard not being able to prove yourself by battling side by side with either Naruto or Sasuke especially since shinobi like you and I were born into a time where battle was everything, the only thing, but your strength is in who you are as a person, it will carry the future generations, and I respect that more."

Tears seemed to pool in the corner of Sakura's eyes as she stared into Kakashi's slate gray ones, hearing the earnest dip of his voice as it lowered to a volume that only she could hear. His words were for her alone as they rumbled through his chest. "Kakashi…"

"Naruto and Sasuke, they are literal gods among men. But you've been equal to me for a long time and I hope that's something. Though maybe being compared to an old man is less than ideal."

Sakura sniffled as a weak smile pulled at the corner of her lips, "It is something… old man."

Kakashi chuckled and held her tighter, the scent of her hair flooding his nose. "Naruto may have the highest position of power in Fire, but you are the most well respected medical ninja of your generation across the whole continent. That is nothing to be scoffed at. I have never believed in anyone as much as I believe in you Sakura. I wouldn't trust Naruto or Sasuke with my life, but I would trust you. I have trusted you. I trusted you back during the war and I trust you now."

"Do you really? It wasn't just because I was left there and you had to take care of me?"

"Me take care of you? You mean you had to stay behind to take care of me!"

Sakura laughed, a full hardy laugh, "I guess we stayed for each other."

Kakashi nodded as he used one of his thumbs to rub away an escaped tear that was running down her cheek, "I was glad that you were by my side," Kakashi smiled, his eye crinkling and his mask tugging at where Sakura knew were the corners of his mouth, "And if you ever forget just how far you've come all you have to do is look in the mirror Sakura."

Sakura blubbered, "What?"

Kakashi continued to smile his eyes crinkling even more, "On this wide forehead—"

"Hey!" Sakura giggled.

"-the one you hated as a little girl, is the symbol of every step that you have had to take to get this far." Kakashi's hand rose from her cheek to tangle with the hair at her temples and so that his thumb could run over the diamond shaped seal that was stark on her skin. Sakura sniffled a little at his touch. Without thinking, without needing to think, Kakashi leaned down and placed his masked lips on the dark rhombus, "You don't need me to be, but I am so proud of you Sakura. And you, of course, can still be mad or frustrated or resentful. I'll be here to listen."

"You don't think it's childish?"

Kakashi shook his head as he drew her close again, "No, I think it's human and each and every single one of us deserve to be just a little more human."

* * *

That night, Sakura watched Kakashi sleep soundly on his couch, the ninken curled up around them snoring in an almost tranquil harmony, and she smiled warmly at his relaxed and comfortable gait.

She remembered the first time that he had completely let down his guard when sleeping beside her. It was on their second or third mission together after the Fourth War and their encounter at the cenotaph and they had been camping out in a cave in Iwa. He had woken her up for his shift and she had chosen to sit close to his sleeping body for a semblance of body heat while she tried to get the dying fire back to burning. She had been expecting to feel his chakra spike and trough like it usually did while he slept, a sign that he was continually scanning his environment, but when it had flat lined instead Sakura had nearly crushed him in her dive to see if he was still alive. The terrified scream that he had let out when she had unceremoniously woken him with a body slam had startled the soul out of her too. They had laughed about it and Sakura hadn't expected for him to remain completely relaxed when he fell asleep again, but just like the first time that night, his chakra had flat lined, trusting her to keep him alive.

Sakura knew that he hadn't of had to say it, she could see how much he implicitly trusted her through every action he made in her presence, down to no action at all, but she appreciated the words all the same.

Sakura's eyes found their way to Kakashi's uncovered lips before she reached up to her forehead and closed her eyes as she remembered the feel of the fabric of his mask, thinner than she had thought for she also could easily recall the warmth and shape of his lips from his kiss on her seal. A feeling that she had long since put aside for the sake of their friendship reared its head and then fell quietly away again as she lowered her hand and opened her green eyes to see the length of his eyelashes, the slant of his nose, and then again, the curve of his lips.

She remembered planning to seek Kakashi out that night after her intended visit with Obito at the cenotaph all those years ago. It had been for a different reason than what had transpired, but Sakura was now happy that she hadn't gone through with what she had originally wanted to tell him. She couldn't have gone through with telling him after she had seen him so broken and in need of someone to simply help him put himself back together again. He had needed a friend. What she got instead when she had set aside her then new, maybe shallow, maybe rebounded emotions, she now knew, was much more valuable. It was what she didn't know she needed after her years of burning, destructive passion for another; it was warmth and companionship and… and someday maybe...

Sakura fell asleep holding his hand.

* * *

Thank you to Leomae2.0, Red Reaper88, Loulou713, Azerate, Snowdonia Hawkweed (x2!), Affectionate, Team Miriku, and Karen for reviewing!

 **Secret's Corner**

It just might not ignite this chapter... but soon?

So, I personally didn't immediately notice the injustice of Naruto being the one to give Kakashi back his eye back while Sakura was standing there until I read the wonderful character exploration of Sakura by mouseymightymarvellous on tumblr. I suggest everyone who loves Sakura go read it because it is beautiful and tragic. So credit for why I'm bringing it up here, because it is very much an important change of dynamic that I think needs to be explored between Sakura, Kakashi, and Naruto. Whether it will come up again and I actually explore it further? Who knows.

So... are those... romantic feelings I see?


	8. Act I, Scene VIII

I almost didn't include the last part in this chapter, but hey... why the hell not?

I hope you guys enjoy! Please review.

* * *

 **Act I, Scene VIII:**

"You'll be okay?" Sakura questioned teasingly as she set the stack of papers that she had completed back on Kakashi's desk for his express approval. He didn't know when, but she had managed to complete all of her work while he had… Kakashi shifted his eyes to his files, done fuck all.

Kakashi stared mournfully at all of the paperwork that had been shifted back to his desk and whimpered ever so slightly. Sakura's productivity was suddenly the bane of his existence. Why was it again that he had insisted that she be his only assistant ever? If he had demanded Shikamaru then they would have been playing a pleasant game of shogi right now, leaving Naruto's paperwork for Naruto. "I would like it if you came back as soon as possible." So that she could take all of this away from him again.

Sakura laughed and leaned over the Hokage's desk to ruffle Kakashi's hair in the same way that he usually mussed hers, her fingers lingering between the messy silver strands as she let out a slow breath, "It's only a three hour operation, I'll be back as soon as I can."

"As much as I am whining, you don't need to rush," Kakashi muttered as he swatted her hand away from his hair and fixed the mess she had made. Sakura smiled at him with a raised eyebrow, retracting her hand. He paused then realizing that she had manipulated him into feeling guilty. Kakashi pouted, "Though… I wouldn't mind if you hurried either."

Sakura giggled under her breath as she shook her head at the child-like Hokage and affectionately patted him on the his mask covered cheek, "I'll bring you some hot tea and a late lunch. I'll even get your favourite: salt broiled saury and miso soup with eggplant."

Kakashi's gaze immediately shot up to meet with her own, slate gray against emerald green. He remembered now, why he would only have her by his side during these dark, dark, dull, dull days, "You're really going to get me my favourite!" The chirped, guileless happiness in his voice made a bright smile burst on Sakura's lips.

"Well I'm feeling generous today. I'll even make sure to get you extra eggplant."

"Your generosity is well received," Kakashi hummed happily, "Now go on. The faster you finish that operation, the faster I get to eat." He made the motion with his hands as though to shoo her out of his office.

Sakura simply rolled her eyes, but with a continued smile she adjusted her white coat and slipped out of the door with a wave of her hand. Kakashi turned in his chair and watched as the pink haired woman appeared in front of the Hokage tower, ran down the street stopping every so often to greet someone, and then disappeared into the white building. He could, and did often for his own amusement, imagine her exploding into the OR ready to mend bodies chopped in half with glowing green hands and her lab coat billowing in the air, but the hospital was probably more regulated than that, at her own ordinance too.

Remembering her carefree smile and the way that she was teasing him again made his heart hammer in his chest, but in a good way since Kakashi was sure he wasn't dying. He didn't know what he had said had made her feel better, if it had anything to do with him at all, but he was beyond glad that the Sakura he knew and cherished had a little less darkness pressing on her soul. For all of the darkness she had dispelled out of him, this was the least he could do for her. He touched the scar bisecting his left eye. One little eye encapsulated so many of the struggles that the people he cared about had to go through. He didn't know if he loved or hated it.

Kakashi turned back to his paperwork. Signing genin certificates, reviewing their graduation profiles, and approving team assignments wasn't particularly interesting, but Kakashi took the time to try and remember the names, major personality traits, and the poor suckers that were going to be the sensei of the genin that would soon be running around the village completing D-rank missions. Maybe he would get some of them to clean up the Hatake compound again this year; it was better than having to hunt down that god forsaken cat. Kakashi hadn't lived at the Hatake compound since his father had passed, but he had never had the heart to sell it.

He remembered being asked after he had retired from his position of Hokage two years ago if he could go back into teaching. It was a hard no and Naruto had simply accepted his decision without further comment. Although all of his students had ended up being uncannily successful, Kakashi knew that little of it could be chalked up to his actual mentorship; he had been a terrible teacher for all of them in unique ways though they had all gained something from their experiences with him he supposed. Kakashi also didn't think that he had enough life in him left to give after his Team 7 had nearly drained it all out of him. If he had had nine lives, Team 7 had definitely whittled him down to his last one. They were the first and what he planned to be the last genin team he would ever have.

If they weren't all extremely busy, Kakashi would have loved to see his former students have their own genin teams, but only to see what kind of disasters they would raise. Sakura's team would no doubt have been the most well rounded, all of them cared for and unaware of what it was like to not have the best medical ninja in the world on their team until their first mission without her; they would be down right spoiled rotten by the pink haired kunoichi. Naruto would no doubt inflict terror on the village through his students, allowing and even encouraging them to find themselves even if it meant some good natured destruction. If Sasuke got a team… Kakashi didn't, but totally did, want to know what kind of calamity Sasuke would foster and how the man would even begin to deal with crying genin children.

Maybe one day Kakashi would entertain the idea of doing some workshops in the academy about teamwork and the like, but most of the time that idea was slapped down hard. He didn't mind that he had more time off these days. He still went on enough missions to satisfy the itch, but he had found that lazing about the village wasn't that bad. Certainly there was good enough company roaming around the streets of Konoha if he ever chose to seek it and most of the time that company went to seek him out.

A knock sounded on his door interrupting Kakashi's musings and making him realize that once again, he had managed to do very little work. "Enter!" Kakashi said as he signed off on graduate number five, Inuzuka Taichi. Thankfully it hadn't been that long after the war yet because Kakashi knew that in about seven years time there would be one hell of a boom of genin coming out of the academy, if Sakura's triple shifts delivering babies had anything to say, and he was definitely not going to be there for that mound of paperwork. If peace continued, and Kakashi sincerely hoped that it did, the academy was going to churn out some very highly skilled and cutthroat, literally, business owners.

The chunin from the day before stuck his head into the office and bowed graciously, "My apologies for disturbing you yet again Hokage-sama. Lee-sama is back and is requesting for your presence again."

Kakashi sighed, wishing that Sakura was here to deal with the problem but he knew that he couldn't make the patriarch of the Lee clan wait for three hours as much as Kakashi loathed having to talk to anyone in support of the child soldier generations. Not many of the elders were particularly happy with him and he was sure they would have tried to kill him already if not for whom, that being two gods, was on his side. "Send him up."

The chunin nodded and closed the door behind him. Kakashi leaned back on his chair, stretching his leg by pushing his feet against the table before he flopped down again in resignation. Many of the elders in Konoha still had their influence through their clans and many of them had disagreed with the reforms that he had started and which Naruto had continued. It was often that they came to the Hokage tower with complaints, but not many could argue effectively for the notions of corruption and child soldiers.

Something that Kakashi did know was that, in the more recent years, the elders had been approaching Naruto with an air of compromise and an intention of manipulation, pretending to accept some reforms in order to insist upon the abolishment of others. There had been long nights at the bar when Naruto and even Sasuke were in need of some consoling from their cohort of friends and companions.

The manipulation of the elders bore straight into Naruto, often targeting his lineage, especially the deaths of Minato and Kushina, and even Naruto's special brand of charisma had no effect on the persistent purveyors of tradition. It was probably part of the reason why Sasuke had developed a near no tolerance policy toward them. It hadn't helped their cause that Sasuke knew they were the ones who had once given Danzou his power and although they never reminded the Uchiha that they had had a hand in the death of his clan, the only thing that stopped Sasuke from slaughtering them all was Naruto's kind and all too forgiving hand, although he had himself suffered from the elders' decreed isolation of him as a child.

Taking all of the completed certificates and files in his hands, Kakashi straightened them by tapping the documents by the bottom edge on the table and then neatly put them down on one corner of his desk so that Sakura would be able to deal with them later. She really valued when he was organized for her, and vocal when he was not. It was what got him through every single day.

The knock sounded again as the chunin returned. "Come in!" The chunin opened the door and stood rigidly as an older gentleman, looking nearly eighty years in age, ambled in. The patriarch of Lee clan's finely embroidered kimono screamed his prestige and wealth for the room to hear as he leaned heavily on what Kakashi noted exasperatedly was a gold plated cane. No wonder Sakura had been tense after meeting with this man the other day. Kakashi swept up on his feet and gave the Lee clan patriarch a small bow as was deemed appropriate and no more, "Please take a seat Lee-sama. What can I help you with today that my assistant could not help you with yesterday?"

The small, older man gracefully took a seat in the chair that Kakashi presented to him, his posture regal as he tightened his fist around his cane. Kakashi looked to the chunin, who was giving him eyes of pity, and dismissed him from the office. The door closed with a quiet click as Kakashi listened to the administrative assistant scurry far, far away. "Thank you Hokage-sama," the old man's voice did not match his age. It was deep, dark, firm, and strong, commanding in its very resonance and demanding in its cadence, "I'm glad that I was able to get an audience with you instead of that unruly young woman today."

Kakashi snorted under his breath thinking that unruly was a pretty good descriptor for the pink-haired woman who could create earthquakes with just her fist. She had hated the policies of the elder council just as much as he and had been a smidge less tactful in expressing so. "Yes, well, Sakura is currently busy in the operating room trying to fix several broken ribs and a poisoning."

The man looked up at him with cold steely eyes and even Kakashi had to tell himself not to wince, "Oh I know. I inquired over her schedule so that I would be able to speak with you personally."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow knowing that this was not going to be good. It had never been a good night when Naruto came to drink after seeing one of the elders alone. Sometimes they would all get to hear why, most of the time Naruto couldn't even begin to regurgitate what had been said to him. Kakashi leaned back on his desk, remaining mostly standing as he looked down at the older man. "Oh. Well Sakura did inform me of your situation Lee-sama and I'm-"

Kakashi's eye twitched as the man held a hand up to him, stopping him mid sentence. "I am coming back to you today Hokage-sama because I know that only men like you and I would even begin to understand," the elder man swept the back of his hand through the air. Kakashi frowned at the Lee clan patriarch's attempt at seizing superiority. "A woman as low born as her could never understand the needs of those born to repute like us," the man looked at him expectantly and Kakashi realized belatedly that he was being complimented. It had taken Kakashi a while to put the pieces into place due to the atrocious implication that Sakura was anything less than spectacular. In the corner of Kakashi's eyes, he could see that shadows of ink animals were beginning to appear. They were vibrating on the walls of the office. "Haruno, a mediocre family name at best. Kami knows why the Godaime Hokage tolerated such charlatans in her office. That woman's assistant too; they all brought shame to the great office of the Hokage. Women should never have been put into a position of power; they make all of the worst decisions. I'm sure that you agree Hokage-sama."

Kakashi, rendered completely speechless, managed to finally choke out, "Excuse me?" Nothing was making sense to Kakashi; he barely comprehended the words that were being spoken to him as the gears in his head whirred. Did this man actually expect him to agree? Was this how he was regarded by the elders?

"Your assistant from the Nara clan, Shikamaru-san I believe, was a much better advisor for you. You were able to accomplish so much with that man by your side although…" the Lee elder gave Kakashi a sharp look but not one that paused him long enough for Kakashi to cut in, "Some policies I did not agree with, but I suppose you had to fulfill the Godaime's wishes while she was still tromping around the city with her nose high in the air." Kakashi frowned and bit down on his tongue, the old geezer was trying to play with his conscience, and Kakashi was going to have none of it. Tsunade, propriety or not, would have sent this man flying if he had dared to say such things to her. Maybe that was why no one ever had when she had been in power. Kakashi waved his hand in the air trying to calm the vibrating ink animals that were slowly coalescing into things more sentient. "I know that the Haruno child had once been your student, but that is no reason to give her privileges that she does not understand or quite frankly deserve. You should have made the Nara stay. You would have accomplished so much more if he had… better, more practical things. That uncivil woman nearly sent me through a wall when I made the obvious request to—"

"To place Lee Hojou in Naruto's care. Yes, I heard."

"She said that it wouldn't be done, but I'm sure that you could—"

Kakashi interjected, uncaring of the old man's need for prestigious teams and even more prestigious sensei. "Lee-sama, how many of your clansmen fought in the Third and Fourth wars?"

The older man seemed to purse his lips, annoyed that he had been interrupted. In what the elder must have thought was an act of grace, he relaxed and began to contemplate a bit, a wrinkle appeared in between his eye brows, "All that were able of course Hokage-sama. My family has always served the best interests of Konoha."

"I seem to remember that the Lee clan was devastated in the Third War."

"Yes, it was a set back for us all but we recovered, our roots in this village are strong and we drink the water the village gives back to us."

"How many lost their lives in the Fourth War?" Kakashi nearly hissed resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose and bite down on his tongue.

"Why… one. Our sons were required to be trained by the likes of the main branch of the Hyuuga clan and the descendants of the Senju and Uchiha clans, may all their souls rest. We could not save only one; taught by that… kunoichi, he had no chance."

Slowly, more and more rage built in Kakashi as his knuckles turned white, cutting half moons into the inner skin of his elbows. This was what he had hated most about being Hokage, come back to haunt him when he was supposed to be gone, "You do realize that the kunoichi was also the sensei of the current heir to the Hyuuga clan?"

The Lee elder frowned, a burning fury seeming to roil up in him as well, "You are right Hokage-sama, and with their combined conniving a woman will soon lead that once great clan."

Kakashi sizzled, "She is the mother of a Sarutobi, if that is what you care about."

"Out of wedlock! It is blasphemy that the child is has the Sarutobi name! You may have disagreed with our council on the precedence of the prior Hokage Hatake-sama," the man denounced angrily an old fire igniting in his eyes, "But you can't possibly ascribe to this! Your useless assistant must have convinced you of such nonsense." The shadows of the ink animals sharpened harshly as they all suddenly froze, ready to attack.

It had been a long time since Kakashi had felt truly and undeniably angry. Annoyed sure; it had basically been a constant during his tenure while dealing with the elders, but none of them had ever spoken of Sakura this way and he wasn't going to have any of it. It took all of his willpower to not immediately defenestrate the elder right there. Kakashi smiled his patented fake smile beneath his mask, his eyes gleaming in abhorrence. "Did you speak to Sakura like this yesterday Lee-sama?" It had been a long time since Kakashi had felt fury scalding his arteries and veins.

"I only spoke to her as she wont to be spoken at. So high and mighty she pretends to be, demanding the place of the Hokage's assistant but only after most of the duties are done. Many of my friends and I attempted to assistance you and endevoured to chase her out of the position years ago. We were happy to see her replaced when the Nanadaime Hokage was appointed, more sense than he lets on for dismissing her, the Uzumaki. It's in his blood. No offense to you of course Hatake-sama," the Lee clan head giving him a pointed glare, "I'm sure your hands were tied with the Godaime forcing—"

"Lee-sama, I would like you to remove yourself and never grace my presence again," Kakashi paused and took a breath, remembering his manners and putting on the biggest, fakest smile he could muster, "Please." Sai would have been proud of him. Sai was definitely watching them and Kakashi prayed that the ink wielder wouldn't kill the old man for speaking so lowly of his friends. Sai had developed a very low tolerance towards those that sought to hurt those he cared about and the ink animals that were still in his periphery were sure indications that his tolerance was only wearing thinner and thinner.

"Excuse me? Hatake-san, I would suggest watching how you speak to me," the man's eyes flashed in warning.

Kakashi barely reacted to the denunciation and threat; "I said, Lee-sama, get out of my office." Kakashi appeared in front of the Lee clan patriarch in a blink of an eye, his slate gaze centered on the man sitting in the chair, "No one disrespects any of the shinobi in this village, clan or not. And no one, especially, disrespects Haruno Sakura."

The man's eyes narrowed, wrinkles springing from the corner of his eyes, too weary and sad to be laughter lines, "What is so special about her that you wish to protect her so Hatake-kun? There were rumors, but that is absurd. You would never disgrace your name in such a manner. She has no kekkai genkai, she has no bloodline, her parents retired as mere chunin, she did nothing in the war, the Uzumaki and Uchiha having to do it all-"

"And yet she spared your life yesterday, something I am considering not doing."

"Hatake-kun," the man almost seemed to growl as he surged up from his seat to try and stare down the acting Hokage. The ink animals rippled, ready to strike against he who would confront the Hokage. Kakashi waved them down, demanding that they stay still.

Kakashi merely scoffed at the attempt in intimidation. Maybe years ago when he had been young and convinced by the idea that the elders controlled everything and so could end anything, he would have been frightened, but not now. No one would ever have to fear them again. He had made sure of that. "That is Hokage-sama to you, Lee-sama. Now get out before I demote you back down to genin rank. We will see what you have to say of mere chunin then."

The man seemed to understand that the threat that Kakashi had uttered down to him was all too real and so he turned with a dusting off of his fine kimono, "I thought that you would understand at least this Hokage-sama," the man spat out each syllable of the title in a baited breath and walked towards the door, "We had all hoped that the esteem of the Hatake clan would be revived through you, but I guess you take after your disgraceful father. It is with great disappointment that I shall have to see the thinning of great bloodlines in our once revered village," Lee-sama paused on his exit to look at Kakashi hard in the eyes, "The nobility of your clan ended with your grandfather." Before Kakashi could launch a kunai so that it would rip through the old man's throat, the door closed with a loud bang.

Breathing deep, body-shaking breaths, Kakashi glared at the door, wondering how it was that any man could still live and be that dull and pride-witted. He didn't have to wonder for long. It was people like Lee-sama that Kakashi had endeavored to replace during his reign. Many of them had thrown every insult at him that they could come up with and Kakashi was sad to say that they had gotten to him as much as they now got to Naruto. The elders had their hands so deep that they knew every button they could touch.

Kakashi didn't even hear him when he finally appeared, but the purposeful light tapping of fingers on his desk announced his presence and Kakashi turned around to look directly at Sai. All of his summons were now gone, hopefully not gone with the elder. The artist was looking down at the ground between his body and his fingers, a hint of rage reflecting in his eyes and his teeth grating, "Would you like me to kill him Hokage-sama? I would not mind the burden."

Kakashi rubbed the bridge of his nose, contemplating an affirmative. He knew that Sai would be able to assassinate the Lee clan head effortlessly and untraceably but Kakashi had tried to make the point that death was not the solution during his reign, "No," Kakashi sighed in acceptance, "If you could go check on Sakura though, that would be helpful."

Sai nodded and disappeared, leaving nary an indication that he had ever been there. Kakashi smiled wearily at the space where the ANBU guard had stood just a moment ago. No one in the world deserved to lead ANBU as much as Sai did and Kakashi was sure that when Naruto appointed him the position that he would run the division resolutely, but compassionately, more so for his still grappling of the emotion of compassion. For now though, he was both Kakashi's and Naruto's most trusted guard and more than good friend to Sakura. Sai would definitely make sure that Sakura was still okay.

Kakashi hissed as he recalled Sakura's pink hair and green, green eyes, the smile that had always stood by him during those dark moments: the beauty that was her grace, and the strength that was her touch. Kakashi remembered what Lee-sama had said about her; what he had said they had all tried to do to her. Another image of Sakura appeared in his mind, the one that had her clinging to his shirt as she revisited her darkness, lived through her insecurities and fears. His fists clenched as he held them at his side. With a large intake of breath and a scraping of his palm against his face, Kakashi marched to the door and wrenched it open, making his way to his private washroom so that he would be able to cool himself off.

The scent of floral green invaded his nose as he stepped inside. Remembering that Sakura shared the space with him, he was instantly calmed as he concentrated on the memory of the tinkling that was her laugh.

Still, Kakashi walked to the mirror, turned on the cold water tap so that it blasted into the sink, and wrenched down his mask. Kakashi stared at the reflection of his father, even uncannier in likeness now that Obito's sharingan was no longer shining back at him. For a moment he simply stared, remembering the day that he had seen his father on the plains of death around that cold campfire and how the old man had smiled at him, not regretting any of the actions he had taken in life other than leaving his son behind.

No. The patriarch of the Lee clan was wrong.

The nobility, the honour of the Hatake clan had started… and ended… with his father.

Kakashi splashed his face with cold water.

* * *

"Because I am a kind benefactor, I brought you two portions of… Kakashi what's going on?" Sakura asked as the silver haired man suddenly enveloped her in a tight embrace as she entered back into the office two and a half hours after she had departed from it. With a pause and the realization that Kakashi had his mask down, pooled around his neck, Sakura wrapped the arm carrying the bag of take out around Kakashi's back and entangled her other hand into the hairs at the nape of his neck. "Sai came by the hospital earlier today to visit me, but didn't tell me why you had sent him. Did…did Lee-sama return today?"

"What a burnt out old ass," Kakashi muttered as her pink hair tickled his nose and the scent of floral green gave him comfort once again.

Sakura chuckled, "Language Hokage-sama."

"He said that he had spoken to you like this before. Is this true?" Kakashi asked as he shifted his grip so that he would be able to hold her tighter. Her warmth infused into him and he couldn't imagine anyone ever wanting to dull her sparkle.

Sakura seemed to waver for a moment before she solemnly replied, "Yes." Her grip on him also tightened.

"Is this why you passed on the post for Naruto's assistant?" He pressed his cheek to the top of her head, staring out the window and across the expanse that was Konoha.

"Yes and no… shishou was wanting to leave Konoha, I had told her that I would take over the hospital for her." Her fingers idly played with the lose fabric of his robes, tickling his spine.

"But it's quite obvious now that you could've handled both positions at the same time." Kakashi turned his head so that his chin was now resting on her hair.

"This is only for the short term Kakashi. This is different." Her fingers clenched at his robes, grabbing his jonin sweater underneath as well.

"Still… you didn't just leave for the hospital," he murmured quietly as he loosened his grip just enough so that he would be able to look her in the face.

Her green eyes sparkled something remarkable, "No… I didn't."

"Why?"

Sakura sighed as she rubbed her forehead on his shoulder, "It got to me, I guess. I felt like an imposter here in the great Hokage tower with my undignified, lower class last name, yes I know that's stupid but… especially since Sasuke-kun was also back and an Uchiha could have been in the running."

"Naruto would have loved having you for an assistant."

Sakura laughed harshly at herself, "I wasn't even able to look at him at the time. In the end the elders were right, though not due to my last name I suppose."

"Last names, what does a last name even mean in the world of shinobi? Whether your name is Haruno Sakura or Hatake Sakura—"

"What?" Sakura squeaked and pulled back haltingly from his embrace so that she could look at him with wide eyes, astonished eyes.

"What?" he replied with confused slate gray ones.

A moment of silence passed between them.

And then…

* * *

Thank you to mamajensen827, Red Reaper88, Leomae2.0, Team Miriku, Azerate, Logical-Lust, and Karen for reviewing. You are all super stars.

 **Secret's Corner**

So I know that this chapter was horribly over wrought on the elder's part but would you believe me if I said this was after hours of straining to tone it down from the first version that I wrote? Man that first version I'm pretty sure that Kakashi would have murdered Lee-sama right on the spot for all of the things that he said about Sakura. Brutality.

This, I believe, is the second last chapter of this Act. Act II is where the NSFW stuff is going to begin (though not right away). There should always be a warning in the chapter before about it, if it's not to your taste. All the NSFW stuff is going to be fairly sectioned off from the rest, but... maybe you're here for lemons and are feeling the thirst. I know that when I read certain stories I do.


	9. Act I, Scene IX

I'm glad that the cliffhanger was well received! Here it is!

* * *

 **Act I, Scene IX:**

"Last names, what does a last name even mean in the world of shinobi? Whether your name is Haruno Sakura or Hatake Sakura—"

"What?" Sakura squeaked and pulled back haltingly from his embrace so that she could look at him with wide eyes, astonished eyes.

"What?" he replied with confused slate gray ones.

A moment of silence passed between them.

And then…

Heat raced over Kakashi's cheek bones as he realized what he had just said and what that implied. "That… that is not what I meant!"

"That sounded like a proposal Kakashi!" Sakura teased as she watched Kakashi's face turn a shade of pink she was pretty sure she had never seen on him before. It was definitely some kind of endearing and Sakura loved that pink looked so good on him.

"It wasn't!"

"We're not even dating Kakashi!" Sakura continued to titter, pushing it further and watching as the blush spread down across his jaw and over his neck. Sure she had found all sorts of ammunition to tease him with before, but he had never quite turned this shade and it fascinated her to no end.

Kakashi gritted his teeth. He knew what Sakura was doing and he wished that he could will his cheeks to. just. stop. doing. what. they. were. doing. "It wasn't a proposal." Why the hell was he pointing out the obvious? She knew this. He knew this. He was just fueling her fire.

"But I suppose at your age, you would want to move fast," Sakura continued to prod with an innocent tilt of her head, a devious grin spreading over her face, betraying her act.

"Oi! I thought you said I wasn't old." Kakashi was affronted in more ways than one now and the gears in his head were whirring at the speed of sound trying to keep up with what was being said while also trying to calm his fucking blush.

"You aren't in looks, but you are in fashion." With every word Sakura tapped him on the nose with one index finger, her other arm still wrapped around his back, and her green eyes flashing.

"Then wouldn't I at the very least I have to court you first?" Kakashi spluttered.

Another moment of silence passed between them.

Sakura's eyebrow shot into her hairline as another look of complete horror flooded Kakashi's face. "Court? Really Kakashi, really?"

What was even going on with what he was saying today? How was he going to fix this? "I wasn't asking to court you either!"

Kakashi jolted as Sakura's face suddenly fell and it was almost like he was stabbed right in the heart. Part of him was ready to check for a kunai imbedded in his back. "Oh…" she seemed to murmur as her gaze shifted to look away from him.

"Oh?" Kakashi gapped.

"Nevermind." He knew that intonation, he knew that look in her eye and suddenly it felt like all of the wind had been knocked out of his lungs because Sakura couldn't possibly…

"Well… I didn't expect that coming," Kakashi muttered mostly to himself as he scratched his chin and then realized that his other hand was still gripping tightly onto Sakura's waist. He let go with a horrified yelp, letting the hand still hover about five centimeters away from her skin, completely mortified and not knowing what to do with himself anymore.

Sakura seemed to chew the inside of her mouth as her hands lowered as well. "Well, you were the one who said it." Kakashi half expected to be sent flying out of the building, his ribs ceremoniously caved in.

"Obviously I have no idea what I'm saying or doing," Kakashi tried to amend, not knowing how to handle this situation in the slightest. For the first time in a long time he was not thinking fast.

Sakura dropped her arms to her side and stepped out of Kakashi's reach. There was an odd kind of resolution on her face, "Obviously. And here I thought that it wouldn't be so bad."

"Eh?" Kakashi's eyes widened as his mind rewound back to what he had said to cause this whole mess in the first place.

Sakura gave him a hard glare and pushed a lock of pink hair behind her ear, "Not Hatake Sakura you doofus, I meant… you know… being courted… by you…"

Her face was such a pretty shade of pink, "Who courts people anymore?" Kakashi spluttered out.

"YOU!"

* * *

Now that Kakashi was a bit more disengaged from the situation, Sakura having sat down at her own desk in frustration, and him having floated to his after their confusing little debacle, Kakashi could finally let his mind catch up to what the hell just happened and think clearly.

He looked down to his paperwork and then back up to Sakura, then back down at his paperwork, and then back up at Sakura. "You're going to give yourself whiplash," Sakura sang as she tapped her pen on her desk and swiveled her eyes up to meet his.

Kakashi looked back down at his paperwork. Picking up his pen, he thought back to all of the people that he had ever wanted to court in his life. It had been fairly simple. The number was none. There had been people that he was interested in, some of them had even been interested back, but he had never courted any of them.

Now, the question was… did he want to court Sakura? No, of course not, that was absurd. They had a long history of being teammates, they were the most efficient of comrades, and they were the best of friends. So why did he feel like lightning suddenly being drawn to earth, never knowing there was a pull, until the instant that it struck and he had bashed into her and the idea of courting her head on.

"I need some air," Kakashi rumbled as he slammed his palms into his desk and stood up. With a swish of his Hokage's cloak and the quick pulling up of his mask, he was gone.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at his movement toward the door before it slammed shut. He must have been flustered to use the door. Sakura was pretty sure that in all of her years knowing the copy nin that he only used the door under dire circumstances. She quickly scurried to the window to see Hatake Kakashi marching down the street before he seemed to suddenly realize he was a shinobi with control over his chakra and could take the rooftops instead of squeezing through hoards of civilians. Once he was above the crowds, he was off like a shot and Sakura could see him no more. With a sigh, Sakura sat down at her desk to finish off her and probably his paper work, "Man can't take a joke," she muttered darkly under her breath.

It only took another second, but suddenly her face was redder than her qipao and her forehead hit her desk as she gargled in embarrassment. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," Sakura chanted to herself, trying to ingrain the mantra in her brain by slamming her forehead against the desk with every word. "What were you thinking telling him that you wanted him to court you? Fucking stupid!" Sakura screamed into the table, glad that it had no ability to hear her. It had taken all of her medical knowledge and chakra control to prevent herself from turning redder than he the moment he had said 'Hatake Sakura' and just now all of the blood was flooding back to her brain. She screamed incoherently into her desk again wondering if preventing a visible blush had been worth the lack of blood going into her head because there was no way that she would have said that if her mind had been oxygenated properly.

Sakura sighed as she turned her bruised forehead to the side so that she was gazing out of the Hokage tower windows. She had promised herself not to be a lovesick, selfish brat anymore and just be there for the person she cared about, but it seemed like some things never changed. Sakura turned her head back down and screamed into her table again, stomping her feet and slamming her fists into the hard wood trying to get the tantrum out of her now before he returned. What was he going to say to her? What was she going to say to him? She shouldn't have teased him that way, what would their friendship be now? She didn't want to lose him over something so stupid. Sakura slammed her fist into her table again and wailed as a crack opened up beneath her hand.

* * *

The two portions of saury and miso soup were getting cold on his desk as Sakura stood up to exchange her set of papers for his mostly untouched ones. She had channeled all of her frustration into getting her work done and had assigned Lee Hojou to Tenten, a fine instructor if there ever was one, and also a woman who had made a name for herself with no last name. "See Lee-sama try to confront Tenten and her million pointy objects," Sakura cackled inwardly as she set her papers down on his desk and smiled at the neat stack of certificates and files sitting on the corner. Picking it up gingerly Sakura turned around and leaned on the Hokage's desk, thumbing through the certificates and giggling at where, instead of the customary signature, Kakashi had simply placed a henohenomoheji. The messy scrawls of his sort of signature made her heart thump in her chest and Sakura couldn't help but sigh at how pathetic she was being.

And then the door crashed open.

Sakura squeaked as she juggled the certificates in her hands, pumping her elbow in triumph when she realized that she hadn't dropped any of them. "Kakashi what the hell do you think you're…"

A bouquet of flowers were suddenly pressed into her face as she stared wide-eyed up at the copy nin. He brought two fingers to the edge of his mask and pulled it down. She couldn't help but let a gasp escape her lips at not only the blush still staining his cheeks and neck, but also the nervous, bashful boyhood smile that adorned his lips, "I guess what I'm doing is courting you… if you want me to… that is."

Sakura slowly turned to place the certificates back on the desk, her green eyes wide in astonishment. She blinked at herself in the reflection of the windows and noted that Kakashi's hand was shaking in the reflection causing the flowers to blur in that after image. Sakura turned back around slowly and then reached out to take the flowers from his hands. From what she could see they were her favourite flowers, arranged in her favourite style. Only Ino at the Yamanaka Flower Shop knew this and she couldn't believe that Kakashi would go there out of all places to get this for her. The news would be all over town by sunset. Sakura swallowed as she raised her eyes up to look at Kakashi's uncertain slate gray ones, "I guess…" Sakura swallowed deeply, "You are courting me then because I do want you to... if you want to and want me to want to," Sakura coughed as Kakashi let out a low breathy chuckle, the tension in his shoulders that she hadn't even seen easing, "I…I was genuinely not expecting this," Sakura murmured as she smiled up at Kakashi.

"Me asking or you saying yes."

"Well you asking precedes me saying yes, so… you asking?"

He smiled easily back at her and a calmness washed over them as Kakashi took a step forward to gently hold her hands holding the bouquet that he had gotten for her, "I… may be really bad at this."

"It doesn't have to be hard," Sakura murmured as she felt her body lean forward, seeking the warmth of his.

"We can just… continue to be us?" Kakashi asked nervously.

"I like being just us," Sakura continued, as she smelt the flowers he had given her and squeezed the stems almost too tight, "So we're really going to do this? We're gonna uh… we're gonna date?"

Kakashi swallowed, "I mean if you don't-"

Sakura interrupted, "Don't get me wrong Kakashi," Sakura pushed a stray lock of pink hair behind her ear, "I really… would like to date you… it's just…"

"It's been a long time."

"We've been friends for a long time."

"I thought about this a lot," Kakashi murmured as he rubbed the back of his head, "And… honestly… if it isn't going to be you… it isn't going to be anyone."

Sakura couldn't help but tease, "So it's just cause there's no one else that you're doing this?"

"Damn it Sakura," Kakashi growled playfully.

Sakura laughed as his grip around her hands tightened before her face turned serious, "Um… do you think that there will be any objections?"

For the first time since Kakashi had burst back into his office his face looked resolute, "From the elders? Because screw the elders. Even if they still like to waggle their pompous asses, they have no real power in dictating the laws of the village anymore."

Sakura laughed at the thunderous look on Kakashi's face, wondering what exactly Lee-sama had said to him, "From anyone… I mean."

"Because of our age difference?" Kakashi asked absent mindedly touching the crow's feet of his scarred eye.

Sakura snorted as she brought one hand up to touch the fingers worrying over his laughter lines, "Of course not, you're not that old and I'm not that young. What I mean is objections based on the fact that you were once my genin sensei."

Kakashi's face twisted like he had eaten a sour lemon, "Everyone and their dog—"

"Your dogs Kakashi."

"Knows that I was a barely a teacher for you Sakura. That relationship never really existed."

"Except on paper." Sakura swallowed.

Kakashi shook his head. "Well, there are only two people in this village we can't beat into accepting the fact that I'm courting you."

Sakura giggled softly at Kakashi's dating language, "True. I like the way you think."

"Violence is often your answer," Kakashi teased.

"Hey," Sakura giggled.

"Though I think you are right in one aspect."

"That being?"

"I do wonder how Naruto and Sasuke are going to take the news."

"Oh, shit."

* * *

Kakashi and Sakura were jolted awake at the sound of a hawk's screech, and the sound of a beak tapping on Kakashi's window incessantly. Sakura groaned as she rolled back into their shared blanket, trying to get away from the sun while Kakashi stood up and ambled towards his window to let the bird in. "What does Sasuke-kun have to say?" Sakura grunted from beneath the blankets.

Kakashi yawned as he took the letter out of the bird's carrier and gave it a once over, "That our personal hell is over, they will be returning this afternoon."

"Then that means we can sleep in longer," Sakura groaned, "Now come back to bed."

"Now Sakura, just because they will be returning today does not mean that we should be shirking our duties…"

A pink haired head popped out of the covers and green eyes glared at him, "Just get back into bed Hatake."

"So forward," Kakashi laughed as he easily pulled the blanket out from under her and crawled back into its warmth making sure that they were both cocooned comfortably, "Someone's a grouchy morning person today."

"Now whose fault is that," Sakura grumbled as she sidled up to him. He lifted an arm easily and let her in, her head immediately going to rest on his shoulder.

Kakashi chuckled as he placed his hand on her waist and then smiled as her breathing slowed down and she drifted easily back to sleep. The previous night, after their whole entire fiasco and their mutual agreement to try dating each other, they had gone back to his place as normal. They had cooked dinner together, as was often the case, and then they had hung out on his couch talking for most of the night with the ninken being ridiculous around them, as was the normal. When Sakura had been about to leave, Kakashi had suggested she stay as usual and then she had said yes, as was common. They had deliberated on sleeping arrangements for a bit, which wasn't normal, but then had agreed that sleeping in the same bed wasn't abnormal. They had shared a bed for a whole week not a week ago.

So they had crawled into the same bed together, and like the nights they had spent out in Alicante, they had dropped into easy conversation until the late hours consumed them and unlike normal, they had fallen asleep in each other's arms, dogs scattered around them instead of between them.

Contrary to the scenarios that had been going through Kakashi's head when he had gone on what could only be described as his panic jog, absolutely nothing about what they had done after what he would now dub "the incident" had been awkward. It had all already been done before. It had been easy. It had been right.

He wasn't sure why they hadn't done it earlier.

And before Sakura had fallen asleep, more comfortable and content than she had ever been, she also wondered why she hadn't just gone ahead and asked him out earlier either.

* * *

"So should I tell Naruto and Sasuke-kun or should you tell Naruto and Sasuke-kun?"

"You should tell Naruto and Sasuke," Kakashi replied easily as they walked to the Konoha gates at a leisurely pace having only started their day barely an hour before when they had dropped by the Hokage tower and the hospital just to make sure things had not gone devastatingly wrong because they had both decided to have a little lie in.

"Wow, throwing me under the bus so fast," Sakura teased.

"Naruto will have more conflicting emotions about killing you."

"Yeah, but I can heal you if he accidently unleashes the kyuubi."

"You can release your strength of a hundred seal and literally heal yourself as he claws you to death."

"Fine. For a Hokage, you sure are a coward."

"I simply pick my battles wisely Sakura."

Sakura rolled her eyes at the man by her side as he chuckled at her. They stopped when they got to the Konoha gates and just like clockwork two shadows appeared on the horizon. As soon as Kakashi and Sakura saw them, Naruto had seen both Kakashi and Sakura and was waving frantically in the air. Sasuke as usual, acted indifferent to the whole thing.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted as he bounded up to them at the speed of one who could only be the descendant of the yellow flash and hugged Sakura around the waist, lifting her into the air, "I missed you so much Sakura-chan!"

Sakura laughed as she gave Naruto a hug back, "It doesn't look like you're hurt anywhere."

"Unranked, tanked. It was such an easy mission."

Sasuke who had now arrived at his much calmer pace nodded in agreement, "A spar would have given me more enjoyment."

"Good to know that you two never need to leave the city again," Kakashi said as he handed Naruto his Hokage robe and hat.

Naruto grinned as he immediately plopped the hat on his head but kept the cloak wrapped around his arm. "Oi, we never said that! Thank you so much for taking over for me. I hope to call on your services again one day."

"Not during academy graduation I hope." Kakashi gave Naruto a crinkled eye smile, a glint flashing through his narrowed eyes, the most subtle but effective of threats.

Naruto simply laughed it off, "Never again."

"Told you it was Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered. Kakashi frowned; his look had never worked on the stoic boy, even after Kakashi had gone through with the threat that once.

"So anything happen while we were gone?" Naruto asked brightly. Sakura and Kakashi simply looked at each other. The smile dropped off Naruto's face. He hadn't been expecting an answer to that quip. "Guys? What happened? Did someone break a treaty? Was it us? Has the Fifth Shinobi War started? Did you cause it Sakura-chan?"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that Naruto," Sakura growled.

Naruto held up his hands in defense, "You guys are scaring me… please tell me what happened?"

"Well…" Kakashi started, taking it as his contribution to the conversation and waving at Sakura to continue.

Sakura rolled her eyes as she twisted her hands in each other. "Kakashi and I have started dating."

Silence filled the air.

Sakura bit her lip. Kakashi scratched the back of his head. Sasuke looked at them with narrowed eyes. Naruto's jaw dropped.

"Wait…what?" Naruto shouted in shock his voice echoing through what Sakura was sure was all of Konoha. Sakura opened her mouth to explain, but Naruto continued before she could, "You two weren't already dating?"

* * *

Thank you to itsokaytocry, Karen, Azerate, Red Reaper88, mamajensen827, Leomae2.0, and SasusakuSensei for reviewing.

 **Secret's Corner**

Next chapter will be the end of the first act! I hope you enjoyed this resolution and the start of KakaSaku courting. I'm not sure if I'm 100% happy with it but this is where it is at. Hopefully you'll all enjoy it though!


	10. Act I, Scene X

Sorry for taking so long with the update. The boyfriend visited from across the pond. I hope you enjoy! And thank you so much for all of the reviews last chapter. You're all the best!

* * *

 **Act I, Scene X:**

"What?" Sakura asked her fist automatically clenching. Naruto eyed it nervously not really understanding why she was angry but she was definitely angry.

"What?" Kakashi questioned more bewildered than all else. Sasuke looked at him flatly.

"You two have been going out since I returned… the second time, nearly four years ago," Sasuke stated matter of factly and as though talking to a couple of two year olds.

"Nuh uh!" Sakura replied intelligently.

"Uh huh!" Naruto countered even more intelligently.

"Naruto," Naruto tried hard not to flinch at the look Sakura was giving him, "I'm pretty sure I know when I began dating Kakashi… and it was most definitely yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Sasuke inquired not disguising the unadulterated surprise in his voice. It took a lot to surprise Sasuke, so his tone did more to put both Sakura and Kakashi on edge than Naruto's bewildered spluttering.

"No shit… yesterday? Seriously?" Naruto barked with amusement as he watched Kakashi and Sakura interact with an emotive Sasuke before his smile suddenly fell, "But… I sent you guys on that vacation together last week where I only booked one hut…"

"So?" Sakura hissed as she flickered her eyes away from the Uchiha's gaping mouth.

"So- you didn't object!"

Kakashi contemplated on that stead fast reasoning for a second, determining it to be sound. The fact that Naruto was being more logical than Kakashi was unnerving to say the least. Why hadn't they objected?

"And they wonder why we think they're dating," Sasuke muttered with a roll of his eyes, his jaw finally snapping closed; his face returning to it's usual indifferent sort of scowl.

Kakashi having enough of being a bystander for this ridiculous conversation and questioning his own oversights in life, chimed in curiously, "What… else… made you guys think that we were dating? I mean we've all shared rooms before, it's not unusual for shinobi."

"Yeah, Naruto! Sasuke-kun! Kakashi and I can be friends you know!" Sakura sounded more angry than curious, her fist ready to slam into someone's face if for any reason she deemed them to have misspoke.

"You can be, but you weren't," Sasuke explained breezily. He had still not developed a healthy fear of Sakura's rage.

"We were though! Seriously, what were you guys thinking?" Sakura nearly screeched.

Naruto rolled his eyes as he took the Hokage hat off of his head, "Oh I don't know Sakura-chan. Maybe it's because you're always the first one to find him when he returns from a mission; it's like you have an antennae that senses when he passes through the village gates. Or how you always go to his place after work when he's in the village and you know… sleep… yes sleep over. Oh, how about the fact that you can even find him in the first place. I'm the mother fucking Hokage and I still can't find Kakashi when I need him. Also, like maybe how you buy some of his groceries for him and sometimes you go together looking all domestic and whatnot? I've seen married couples that look less domestic than you two. Oh, and how his ninken follow you around like you're their co-owner? Or how like everyone has seen you walking around arm in arm or maybe how often you two wear matching outfits—"

"It's standard issue uniforms, we all match," Kakashi cut in wondering if Sakura would explode from how red her face was getting. "Also, just because Sakura is very affectionate—"

"I'm going to kill you Kakashi."

"—doesn't mean that I am—"

"Don't even get me started with you and the way that you dote on and look at her," Naruto continued waving his hat in the air. Sasuke smirked at the look that appeared on both Kakashi's and Sakura's faces. Their eyes flashed to look at each other and they both began to blush, "I'm pretty sure you nearly gave us all a heart attack when you offered to pay for her meal that first time and then began doing it on a regular basis while still somehow running out when you knew she wasn't going to be the one to pay and you know that infamous 'incident' that happened in the hospital when Ba-chan was still in charge where all the ANBU within the country were suddenly summoned? That was because Rokudaime Hokage Hatake Kakashi, had come to the hospital out of his own free will just to make sure that Sakura-chan wasn't over working herself during the flu-season and above all of that…" Naruto breathed in a deep breath, "You've let Sakura-chan see your face!" Naruto began gesturing widely between Sasuke and himself, "We still don't know what half your face looks like and I'm the motherfucking Hokage! I could order you to show me your face and I would still not see your face!"

Kakashi, a bit more mortified than five seconds prior, because seriously, had he really done all those things, was completely unable to answer and so Sakura, a little more the shade of her hair brilliantly asked the first thing that came to her mind, "Um… how did you know that I had seen his face?"

Sasuke looked at her from the corner of his eye, "Because you had stopped looking for it."

"You're the only one in all of Konoha now that doesn't stare when Kakashi's about to take a drink or eat some food, so obviously you already know what he looks like!" Naruto shouted pulling at his hair, "It's so infuriating that you've obviously seen it so many times that it's not even novel to you anymore!"

"Oh…" Sakura murmured as a blush rose on her cheeks, "What? And you thought we just wouldn't tell you we were going out?"

"You didn't have to tell us. It was pretty obvious," Sasuke said.

Sakura gritted her teeth as she glared at Sasuke her blush slowly dying, "Not so obvious, since we weren't actually going out at the time!"

Naruto sighed as he placed a hand on Sakura's head, which she seethed at, and then looked at Kakashi, "We thought that you two were just being private about things," Naruto turned to look at Sakura in the eye, his gaze soft and his fingers running through her hair, "You know how Kakashi is and we thought you were just respecting that. Also…" Naruto seemed to pause, "You don't talk to me about these kind of things that much anymore and I just thought this was another one of those things…" Sakura swallowed deeply at the small, sad smile on Naruto's face and the way that his eyes were shining at her. He blinked then and the melancholy went away, "And so we decided to respect you two cause we didn't want our ribs to be caved in..." Naruto backed up several feet with a laugh and out of the range of Sakura's fist.

Naruto continued as he looked back and forth between the two other members of his childhood team, "And honestly we didn't need anymore details than what we could already see. You two just looked so happy together all the time even while you were both overworked in that Hokage tower. It was what you two deserved and we couldn't… wouldn't question that. It's hard enough in this world to find someone to spend your life with as it is. We didn't need anymore than your happiness, though Ino really wanted to wring out some information from you two; Shikamaru stopped her somehow, pretty sure it nearly cost him his life. No one is sure how still and Chouji refuses to talk about it. I'm pretty sure that all of the people involved in trying to shut her up were nearly killed. Anyways, I personally didn't need to know what you guys got up to between the sheets anyways."

"Hell Naruto," Sakura bit, her emotions conflicting as she noted for the first time the trace of sorrow that laced Naruto's gaze every time he looked at her. She was touched about Naruto's sweet and sincere words about a relationship that at that time had not even existed and resolved to be better, to try and let it go. "We haven't had sex yet."

Sasuke seemed to genuinely be surprised at this, his face once again letting go of his indifferent expression, "Seriously?"

Kakashi's eyes flashed in challenge at the Uchiha boy as Sakura rolled her eyes up to the sky in exasperation at all of her boys. "Let's get out of here Sakura." Kakashi gently grabbed Sakura's arm, knowing that her fist could easily turn on him if he did the wrong thing, but also… he did not like what Sasuke was implying and he wanted to take care of it… now.

"Oh fine. This is a mess anyways," Sakura muttered, "For the record though… we just started dating YES-TER-DAY."

And with a puff of smoke they were gone, leaving the Nanadaime Hokage and his assistant standing at the gates of Konoha both more flabbergasted than they had been mere minutes earlier.

Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose, "God, I really wish that I didn't know what they were doing this very moment."

"Hn."

"So much for that wedding betting pool. All my hard work planning that damn vacation so he would propose gone."

"Oh, I think it's still on."

"You think so?"

"For my bet."

"Aww, fuck you teme."

* * *

They were not doing what Naruto imagined they were doing much to Kakashi's dismay as he remembered Sasuke's look. Instead they had opted for a walk around Konoha, for the sole purpose of testing the truth of Naruto and Sasuke's words. The ease at which Sakura wrapped her arm around Kakashi's made her wonder if Naruto had a point, but she kicked that thought out of the door as she made the effort to saddle closer to the man than she had ever thought she had before. At his utter and complete lack of reaction at her actions, he seemed to still be sulking about _something_ , Sakura realized that… this was how close she always was with Kakashi. It was fairly damn close now that she was aware of it.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck with his other hand as they walked down the streets whispering to each other, "Is anyone looking?" Sakura asked leaning up and into his ear.

"No," Kakashi replied.

"Is no one seriously reacting at all?"

"Nope."

"What if I kissed you?" Sakura suggested, "Think people would look then?"

"Sakura, I'm not going to kiss you in public in order to test Naruto's stupid theory."

Sakura blinked at him before a large grin spread across her face, "I didn't realize how much of a romantic you were Kakashi, first kiss and all?"

Kakashi didn't deign her statement in need of a reply but she noticed the blush that crept above his mask as he scratched his chin bashfully.

"I know then," Sakura murmured as she pulled on his arm to alter his direction, he fell easily into step with her, "If Naruto was telling the truth and I was right about where you got the flowers then we should be getting our answer right about-"

"FOREHEAD!"

"Now."

A purple and blonde blur was suddenly in front of the pair, her hair perfect, and her ice blue gaze steady on them. Sakura had to take a moment to remind herself that Ino was one of the top shinobi in intelligence and that if she wanted something out of them, she was going to get it. What in all names had Shikamaru done to get Ino out of her business because that would be useful in what was probably the near future. "Good to see you back here so soon Kakashi," Ino said with a smile gracing her lips, the flower shop behind her punctuating her statement quite well.

Kakashi nodded at the Yamanaka. "Pig," Sakura teased back.

Ino clucked her tongue at her friend before she waved away the insult easily. "I'm guessing you're here with some good news?"

Sakura let out a small breath, slowly and steadily. Naruto and Sasuke were delusional. Ino was perceptive, clever, and above all, nosy. The woman would have never let Sakura get away with dating anyone without being able to at least talk about it. There wasn't a thing in the world that would have made her stay out of Sakura's business. Shikamaru wasn't a sorcerer after all. "Yeah, we're here with some news," Sakura smiled gently as she looked up at Kakashi. He was looking back down at her with his slate gray eyes, a telltale happy crinkle at the corners.

"I better have been the first person you told… maybe after those two idiots I suppose, but I better have been the third Forehead!"

Sakura laughed easily, "Of course, we've been friends for forever Pig."

Sakura was a little taken back by the moisture that seemed to cloud Ino's eyes as she stepped forward clasping her hands to heart, "I'm so happy for you two, you're going to make each other so happy."

"Um… thank you?" Sakura murmured wondering why Ino was getting so emotional. As Naruto had said, it was true that as a shinobi it was hard to find someone that you wanted to try and live a life with, but they were only just beginning to date. It wasn't like it was the be all and end all for them… yet.

"Let's see it then."

"See what?"

Ino blinked as her hands dropped and she rolled her eyes, "The ring Forehead."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked, her eyebrows pulling together. Kakashi, beside Sakura, had already caught onto the situation at hand and was scratching his cheek wondering if Sakura would beat him into the ground if he tried to escape the awkward situation. Maybe he would hurry to the tower and find a month long mission starting right away… but Naruto was right… Sakura would probably summon his dogs, hunt him down, and wring him dry.

"The engagement ring! Kakashi has never gotten you flowers before, or by the heaven's I hope he hasn't because if you've gone to some other shop…" Ino growled at the silver haired man, who had to use every bit of his will to not step back and away from what was obviously a dangerous situation. His generation feared Ibiki. This generation feared Ino.

"I haven't," Kakashi said calmly and truthfully, but still he swallowed deeply.

Ino perked back up and turned her attention away from him, much to Kakashi's relief. "So when he came by yesterday, I could only assume…" Sakura's mouth dropped. Ino stretched her neck to try and take a look at the fingers that were curled around Kakashi's arm. Ino's eyes narrowed as she didn't see what she expected to see, "There's no ring… Don't tell me you proposed to her with a ninken pup or something?" Ino snapped at Kakashi again causing the hairs to stand on his arms. This woman was going to replace Ibiki one day and there was a reason why. "I thought you were all about those old fashioned traditions and what not!" At the silence that Ino got as a reply, she looked closely at the faces of the pair that was in front of her. Her jaw dropped. "No… way."

Kakashi coughed, "I proposed my desire to court her yesterday?" He provided not helpfully.

"Yesterday?" Ino asked suddenly turning her head rapidly between the two, "YESTERDAY?"

"Oh god… Naruto was right," Sakura muttered in horror as she watched her friend slowly combust.

Ino shot forward and grabbed Sakura by the shoulder, finally causing Sakura's hands to let go of Kakashi who still considered bolting out of the situation all together. "What do you mean you've only starting going out yesterday Forehead? You've been going out since Sasuke returned… the second time!" Ino nearly screamed.

"No! We haven't!" Sakura shouted back in exasperation and squared her shoulders for a fight.

"But you haven't stopped talking about him since that time! I mean you were definitely talking about him as though you've seen him hot, bothered, and naked-"

"Oh?" Kakashi inquired.

"You shush," Sakura pointed at Kakashi and then turned back to her friend who was gripping her shoulders with her nails, "That's because I started working with him around that time and we were spending a lot of time together…"

"Naked?" Ino exclaimed.

"No! I just tended to his injuries a lot because the man refused to go to the damn hospital. Kakashi stop looking at me like that!"

"You just don't talk about co-workers… teammates…friends the way that you talk about him! I was so sure we were…" Ino shouted as she continued to shake Sakura's shoulders, "I can't believe this Forehead!"

"I think I'm the one having the harder time right now Pig! Now stop shaking me you crazy woman!"

"Me too," Kakashi chimed in perfunctorily.

"Oh shit, if I had known I never would have… that bouquet… I thought it was finally the day. Shit! I'm going to lose the damn bet!" Ino cried as she finally let go of Sakura's shoulder and seemed to rage inwardly at the world.

"The bet? What bet?"

"For when you two idiots would get married! If you had gotten engaged yesterday then we'd be right on track to my fame and fortune right about now!"

"Fortune?"

"Everyone and I mean EVERYONE is in on it—"

"Everyone?" Kakashi repeated.

Ino looked squarely at him, "Everyone from our generation and yours, from Tsunade-sama to the Kazekage and his siblings in freaking Suna, and all the other Kage and their damn villages! You've gone on missions together to all of them. They all thought you two were in a relationship and shacking it up. Tsunade-sama has been collecting bets while on her travels all these fucking years. They all thought you were together! Damn it Forehead! I could have been fucking rich!"

"This is not my fault!"

"How the hell are you two not dating?"

"Because we aren't! Weren't! ARG, this is a mess!"

"That's bullshit!"

"I can't…" Sakura screamed into her teeth, "Kakashi we need to go. Right now!"

"Don't you dare Forehead, you're telling me everything! Screw Shikamaru and your private lives, I swear—"

Kakashi and Sakura disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

They sat on Kakashi's couch.

Both of them in a daze.

The day had not gone like either of them had expected.

"So…" Kakashi murmured.

"Ugg," Sakura groaned as she curled into herself and tumbled sideways so that her toes dug underneath Kakashi's thigh for warmth and her cheek rested on the arm rest.

Kakashi patted her knee in pity before he took one of her feet and rested it on his lap, massaging it gently. "So today was fun."

Sakura looked at him with narrowed eyes, the smile on his face was tense with suppressed laughter as he made his way down her arch. "I can't believe that's all you have to say about today."

Kakashi let out a breathy chuckle as he pressed his thumbs into the tough skin of her foot, gripping it gently when Sakura jerked from the sensation. "I think today was very enlightening."

"Enlightening," Sakura summarized deadpan.

"Yes."

"Enlightening how?" Sakura inquired as she rolled a little so that the back of her head was now on the arm rest and she was curled so that she could look right at him and he could easily access her other foot.

"Enlightening in the way that this wasn't a terrible idea."

Sakura quirked an eyebrow, "You thought dating me would be a terrible idea?"

"It was definitely one of the thoughts that went through my head while I was on my journey of life."

"You mean when you bounced from the Hokage tower and didn't finish your paperwork."

"That too."

"Back on topic, you thought dating me would be a terrible idea?"

"Didn't you think dating me would be a terrible idea at any point?"

Sakura paused for a moment as she closed her eyes and roamed through her memories, "Honestly, no."

"Oh…" Kakashi muttered as he looked at her, "Well then… maybe this conversation will swiftly change that."

Sakura simply laughed at him as she sat up and reached out to cup his cheek gingerly, running the pad of her thumb along the line of his face where his mask usually ended. Naruto was wrong about one thing… his face would never get old to her. "No… I don't think it will."

Kakashi smiled at her and she felt the skin of his cheek pull beneath her palm as he rested the weight of his head against it, "So nothing about this has you feeling nervous or scared at all?"

"Nervous and scared? Of course I'm feeling nervous and scared," Sakura said as she breathed out a long breath, "It's scary risking an amazing friendship for something so messy and crazy as a romantic relationship, I'm nervous just thinking about what is going to change between the two of us because of this. But that's not the same as thinking it's a bad idea, or not wanting it at all."  
"Now you're equating silly things," Kakashi murmured, his voice dropping an octave as he brought a hand up to hers and cupped her hand, "I never considered not wanting it."

"Really?"

"I think from the moment I said it… I wanted it. Probably before I said it. It just felt so right…"

"Like lightning coming down to earth."

"Like lightning coming down to earth."

Both of them stared at each other for a long time, piercing green eyes meeting deep slate ones, both of them shining with acknowledged truth and reality.

Sakura was the first one to break out of the trance as she pulled her feet and calves back to her side and then folded them underneath her as she rose on her knees and placed her other hand on the crook between Kakashi's neck and shoulder. Like water running through the crevices, Kakashi's hands came up to hold her gently at the nape of her neck and softly at the back of her jaw, his fingers splayed around her ears. They looked at each other as they got closer before both of their eyes fluttered closed and Sakura felt Kakashi's soft lips press pliable onto hers.

Like sparks jumping between them, her chakra reacted to his, swirling in her head and deep within her core, letting her absorb each and every sensation of his lips on hers.

She forgot how to breath when she pulled back and only the sharp intake of her lungs demanding for air brought her back again. She focused on him slowly, seeing that his eyes were as hazy as hers.

Leaning in again and with a gentle pressure with his pinky at the top of her spine, Kakashi pulled her in and closed his eyes as their lips met again. Her lips were rough, but soft, the texture sending tingles down his spine as she slowly fell against him, their bodies curving together in a warm embrace. He felt his chest expand at the feeling of her up against him, her warmth running into him, healing him like her chakra couldn't. Contentment echoed in his bones.

When they pulled away this time, they exchanged the touch of their lips with the touch of their foreheads as both breathed quickly and deeply to regain their breaths, feeling the movements of the other vibrating through the hairs on their skin, eyes still closed.

"Wow," Sakura breathed, her voice barely audible.

Kakashi simply hummed in agreement as he pulled his hand closer to himself and gentle grasped her hand on the crook of his neck. "Sakura…"

It was Sakura's turn to gently hum as his fingers one by one interlocked with hers, "Hm?"

"This isn't a terrible idea."

Sakura choked out her laughter falling completely against him, her hands resting on his chest as she curled into his warmth. He embraced her tightly around the waist, feeling her against him and feeling the peace that he only ever had with her. "No, it isn't."

Pakkun found them hours later, having fallen asleep on the couch in each other's arms with the silence and peace that floated around them. He snuffled between the folds of his face at the smile that graced Kakashi's lips as Kakashi lay there with the pink haired woman in his embrace. "You deserve happiness boss," Pakkun grunted to himself before he trotted to the couch and jumped onto the cushions, nestling against Kakashi's hip. Soon enough Pakkun fell asleep too.

* * *

Thank you to Lysergic, DanielleZ13, Affectionate, SakuraxKakashi Fan, Leomae2.0, SasusakuSensei, JourneyB, Infernalbooks, Azerate, mamajensen827, Red Reaper88, Guest, LuizaMartins, Lady AlyseB630, Karen, , and mbravesgirl7 for all the wonderful reviews. You are all the best!

 **Secret's Corner**

AND THAT IS ACT 1! WOOT! I hope you guys enjoyed that. Now begins the shenanigans of them dating each other. The updates are gonna be a little bit farther apart from now on since I really should be working on my thesis and the second act wasn't as complete as the first in terms of ideas, but it will get there! This story has turned from something originally 50,000 to probably 3 times that long... my bad.

Also don't get me wrong. Affectionate and loving friendships are a thing and also a thing to be treasured... just so happens that it's more for Kakashi and Sakura.

Before the next act starts I may have an interlude: Kakashi's Panic Jog. I might also just tack it onto the end of the next chapter. We'll see.


	11. Interlude: Kakashi's Panic Jog

Short but sweet, I hope you guys like it.

* * *

Interlude: Kakashi's Panic Jog

"I need some air," Kakashi rumbled as he slammed his palms into his desk and stood up. With a swish of his Hokage's cloak and the quick pulling up of his mask, he was gone.

The moment Kakashi burst out of the Hokage's office he nearly fell down the stairs. He didn't use stairs very often, especially at the Hokage tower. He was pretty sure that during his two year tenure he hadn't gone down this way even once. He liked windows, he liked popping through windows, best way to scare the living life out of people.

So when he stumbled, not lost, definitely not lost, through the different floors of the tower, all productivity immediately ceased. Naruto was a common sight roaming around the building, especially when the blond was avoiding his paperwork, but Kakashi had never been a staple of the place. Kakashi avoided paperwork by being unfindable, not by being obnoxious. Mouths flew open agape and some even looked up to the office, knowing that a very particular pink haired kunoichi was probably still up there. Some of the Hokage tower workers nervously flickered their eyes towards the windows wondering if they would soon see Tsunade's apprentice destroying parts of the city in her temper… again.

"Did they have a domestic dispute?" one shinobi whispered to another as he eyed the acting Hokage wearily. Kakashi threw open several doors trying to find the next set of stairs to take him further down.

"What am I even thinking, this is an absurd idea," they could all hear him mumble as he finally found the next staircase.

"Do we have enough money in the budget if he's the one who pissed her off?" an accountant on the first floor seemed to frantically whisper into her partner's ear.

"We never have enough money in the budget for when he pisses her off," the partner cried.

Kakashi, of course, heard none of this as he threw open the front doors to the Hokage tower, the light of the sun washing over his face as he walked out onto the street. Many would have mistaken him for a common civilian if he weren't Hatake Kakashi… and conspicuously wearing the Hokage robes.

Kakashi was pushed there and fro by those who didn't care who he was and those that cared a little too much who he was before he suddenly jolted and realized, he didn't like human contact and be it as it may, there were usually less humans on roofs. Especially humans that were trying to cope a feel. Now he was imagining Sakura grabbing his ass, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that whole scenario. Would Kakashi like the feeling of Sakura's hand on his ass or would it be the most awful feeling in the world?

Channeling chakra into his feet, still in a daze, he shot up to the rooftops and bounded away from the Hokage tower as though there were fire on his heels. Pink fire. Oh the ways that courting Sakura would crash and burn.

"Oh… they must have gotten into a fight. It's been so long since they've had a disagreement," Hinata commented to the vegetable vendor as she watched the acting Hokage bound away from the pink haired figure in the Hokage's office window.

"Oh they always make up by the next day and come to my stand," the vendor grinned, "I'll be selling out my stock of eggplant tomorrow! It's been so long! Sakura-sama only comes by every so often now and it's only for a couple eggplants when she does!"

Hinata simply giggled as she watched the over eager salesman start to tally through his stock of eggplant. "Maybe Kakashi tried to have input on the wedding planning!"

The salesman looked up at her with wide eyes, "Have they finally gotten engaged?"

"Well I would hope so. Naruto-kun sent them on a very romantic trip just over a week ago, although I did try to dissuade him. Almost managed it too but he's gotten more clever over the years," Hinata frowned, "It would have been silly of Kakashi to not take that chance to propose but it would be to my benefit..."

"I feel that the copy nin… is not very good at the grand romantic gestures," Kiba grinned as he appeared at Hinata's side, "Our bets are probably still safe. I see him proposing in Ichiraku or after they train and she's healing him. You know that adoring look he gets when she patches him together."

"Kiba-kun! Eavesdropping is terrible!"

"I hear Kakashi and wedding and I gots to know. Akamaru and I have a lot of stuff we want to buy Hinata!"

"Oh, Kiba-kun you're terrible," Hinata laughed. Suddenly her face turned serious, "But if they actually are wedding planning already we have to ruin it."

Kiba held out a fist and Hinata bumped it with her own, "Fine by me."

Three heads popped up out from behind the vegetable stand and the salesman screamed in surprise as Shino, Kurenai, and little Mirai chimed in, "Count us in!"

* * *

Kakashi stopped his journey on a wide roof close to the Hokage monument. It was the prime spot to observe the faces of the leaders of Konoha before and after him. His gaze trained not on his own rocky, masked face, the face of the man who had caused all this trouble in the first place, but instead on the face of his mentor, his friend. "Minato… what do I do?" Kakashi murmured as he collapsed on the ground, his legs crossed and his face in his hands, "You once told me you were the love guru... and you and Kushina-nee had the best of relationships…"

Genma and Raido bounced off of a roof nearby and caught sight of the forlorn copy nin. "Do you think he proposed?" Genma asked worriedly.

"Not everyone reacts that way to commitment Genma," Raido replied with a frown on his face.

"They react that way if they get rejected," Genma cackled as he elbowed Raido in the ribs, "That would suck for you wouldn't it? If she rejects him now there's no way that you'll win!"

Raido scuffed, "Yeah right, like she'd say no to him. Tonton will come flying into my head right this moment before that would happen. You just want to win the damn bet and there's no way they'd have a three year engagement."

Genma stopped his cackling and shook his head and looked at the copy nin with sincere worry, "You're right. They are fucking smitten with each other… maybe he stepped on Pakkun's tail or something."

"Much more likely."

"If he's still there in an hour I'll go drag him home to apologize to his dog."

"I'm sure Sakura will find him before then."

"Ah, you're right."

Raido seemed to contemplate, "And if that's his planning to propose face?"

"I'll sabotage it when I bring him home. Put an exploding tag in his pants. That'll definitely stop things for a couple years. Sakura seems to be the type who needs-"

"I'll put an exploding tag in your pants if you do that."

"Ass."

"I'd be an ass full of riches." They bounded away bickering at each other about how they would sabotage each other's bets.

Unsurprisingly the stone face of Kakashi's mentor did not give him any advice, but that didn't stop Kakashi's brain from whirling and as it often did. His brain advised itself. This was Sakura he was thinking about… Hatake Sakura… NO! HARUNO SAKURA. "Goddamn," Kakashi muttered as he rubbed his eyes and flopped backwards on the roof, his arms and legs splayed as he looked up at the clouds. He rubbed his eyes again… were they… were the clouds forming into cherry blossoms?

His brain's advice was really not being subtle about this was it?

"This is a terrible idea," Kakashi sighed, "She might cave my chest in if I even so much as try and kiss her. She'll definitely cave my chest in when I inevitably forget to take the trash out…"

The image of domesticity didn't even tweak Kakashi's radar.

If anything, the other things that Sakura would cave his chest in for appeared in his head. What if he broiled instead of baked their dessert? What would she do to him if he dusted from bottom to top? Would she heal him if he threw his back out while trying to fix the washer and dryer? Would she bury him alive if he brought home a hoard of thirty dogs?

By the time Kakashi realized what was happening in his head, they had lived fifty long years together… fifty long and happy years together filled with laughter and love. Her green, green eyes were still as bright as they had always been behind those locks of gray hair. Kakashi sighed as he sat back up and stared at the face of the Yondaime. "Wise even in death sensei."

He had another person to go visit. Someone else he needed to tell that he was happy. Someone else he needed to know would approve of his decisions to finally try and move on and have that someone special. Before Sakura was with no doubt, special. Kakashi bounded off of the rooftop and towards the edge of the village. The streets that he came across were much less crowded than those around the Hokage tower. His memories of them were faded, but he would never forget what the neighbourhood looked like. They were the streets that he grown up on after all.

The field in which his father was buried was only a little farther than the Hatake estate and as Kakashi passed by the dark and empty house he made a note to make sure to create a D-ranked mission to get it cleaned up again. It had been a while.

Sakumo's grave was like every other. It was not marked distinctly; it couldn't have been at the time that he had passed. There were people who had sought to desecrate it. Kakashi hadn't told anyone where his father had been buried for almost a decade and even then, few people knew now where the headstone was located.

He knelt down in front of the grave and rested his forehead on the cold stone and spoke softly to his father.

"Gai-sensei, is that not your eternal rival? Who is he here seeing?" Lee asked. Gai turned to look at Kakashi as the man knelt by Sakumo's grave, the fabric of his mask shifting as he spoke to his father about his misgivings, his fears, but also his hope. Gai was one of the few people in Konoha who knew exactly who Kakashi was here visiting and he suspected why.

"Indeed it is my dearest protégé," Gai grinned from his wheelchair, "But we shall leave him alone. Not everyday do we require to be youthful."

"So wise Gai-sensei," Lee praised.

Tenten looked around from where she was pushing Gai's wheel chair down the stone paths of the cemetery. Her chin nearly rested on Gai's shoulder as she spoke to her old mentor, "What do you think he's doing here?"

"I imagine that my eternal rival is giving his loved one good news. That is the only time he ever comes here," Gai replied as he looked into Tenten's curious brown ones and smiled gently at her.

"Do you think Sakura-san is with child?" Lee questioned enthusiastically, "I was saddened when I had heard that they were together but after seeing Sakura-san so happy, I have admitted my defeat."

Tenten shook her head, "You say this every time you see Kakashi or Sakura, Lee."

Lee looked at Tenten with tears in his eyes and she couldn't help but sigh fondly as she saw his trembling lip, "I must remind myself often that Sakura-san is happy even if it is not with me."

Gai laughed, a deep rumble coming out of his chest, "It is good to see my eternal rival happy as well."

"If Sakura's pregnant do you think they've eloped?" Lee whispered dramatically.

Gai perked up, "If they got married a month ago then my old bet may still be sound! Tenten, steer me towards my eternal rival."

Tenten clucked her tongue, "I thought that you said we shouldn't disturb him

Gai-sensei."

Gai simply looked at her, a grin on his face, "You just don't want to admit that I may have won my dear student." Gai didn't want to disturb Kakashi, and he knew that Tenten wouldn't have let him.

"No, I just think that a woman doesn't have to be married in order to have a child. I don't subscribe to those archaic ideals," Tenten sniped, "Though I do hope they get married in oh… about 23 months."

Gai let out another deep rumbling laugh, "Clever my dear one!"

"Why? Why do you hope they get married in 23 months?" Lee asked as he turned his head back and forth between two of his most precious people. They had mentioned a bet, but what bet?

Tenten and Gai simply looked at each other again in merriment at Lee's cluelessness before Tenten continued to push their old sensei further into the cemetery to visit the last of their team, whom they had long ago lost but certainly would never forget. Such things as bets could be set aside for another time.

* * *

Resolute as he could be after having visited his father, Kakashi jumped from rooftop to rooftop with a very dangerous destination in mind. It was a terrible idea to court Sakura, but he needed Sakura to say yes anyways. The idea of spending the rest of his life with her was only getting more and more appealing as the seconds dragged on. He wouldn't ask anyone else and Ino would know how to get her to do so.

The moment the bell above the flower shop door rang a bouquet of flowers was already in his face. Ino winked at him, "These are her favorites. She'll definitely say yes."

Swiftly ignoring the fact that Ino could read minds from kilometers away without possessing someone and what this meant for the intelligence division and the general gossip in Konoha, Kakashi made his way back to the Hokage tower. He steeled himself. This was a terrible idea… but it was what he wanted more than anything.

* * *

Thank you to mamajensen827, DanielleZ13, mbravesgirl7, Red Reaper88, Infernalbooks, Agentcaroline, Elisa. CFPS, Miyaka Hana, SasusakuSensei, Leomae2.0, mrs. sakura. hatake, SakuraxKakashi Fan, and Hana no Sutoomu for reviewing. You're all the best!

Secret's Corner

I hope that everyone liked the interlude. This wasn't originally planned to be written but the more I thought about it, the more I loved the phrase Kakashi's Panic Jog. Granted this whole chapter was less about Kakashi's panic than it was about everyone not having a clue, but it is what it is.


	12. Act II, Scene I

It's been a while since I finished Act I, here we go with Act II! The chapters will be coming out slowly, but they will be out! I hope you all enjoy. Thank you so much for the continued support. It means the world to me.

* * *

 **Act II, Scene I:**

Kakashi paced back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. He had been pacing in his apartment earlier that day, but apparently his ninken had had enough of him and had kicked him out of his own abode with exasperated barks, so now he was pacing in front of the hospital, waiting for Sakura to get off work. Back and forth Back and forth.

It was apparent now why Sakura hadn't had a date in four years, no one wanted to really go up against the copy nin if everyone thought they had been dating and also no one wanted to get on Sakura's bad side by questioning her choices if she had indeed chosen him. And now she had chosen him. Even he wanted to question her decision.

Kakashi swallowed deeply as he continued to pace. The thing was that, Kakashi hadn't been on a date for even longer. Not since he had been assigned his destined genin team and they had basically consumed his whole entire life with one event of shenanigans after another.

So although it had been four years for Sakura, it had been ten years for him and hell if Kakashi remembered what he used to do on dates. There had been movies, walks in the park, dinner, short trips out of town, but all of these things he had already done with Sakura when they had been just friends. So what was a date?

And this was why the famed Hatake Kakashi was pacing in front of the hospital, because at the end of Sakura's shift he had promised her a stupid date, that he had stupidly promised to take care of planning, and despite his vast knowledge of nearly everything, he was coming up short on anything date-like to take her on. Everything he could come up with, they had already done as friends and now, more than ever, was he beginning to realize why everyone thought they were a couple.

Kakashi wanted to rip his hair out in frustration because seriously, was dating supposed to be this hard? He had warned her he was going to be bad at this, but he wasn't expecting to be this bad at it so soon. He had resolved that if he was going to be wholly unprepared with a date plan, he would at least be on time and this was the one reason why he wasn't pacing elsewhere.

Kakashi only stopped his pacing when the quiet sound of an ANBU operative landing behind him echoed in the air. Kakashi sighed as he turned around to come face to face with Sai. "Yo," Kakashi greeted.

"It is you," Sai murmured with a tilt of his head.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be watching our esteemed Hokage?"

Sai simply waved his hand as though to brush away the concern, "I was watching the Hokage, but he got multiple reports about a disturbance outside the hospital and so sent me to go check it out instead of every other ANBU operative."

"I'm sure that Naruto was also edging for some private time."

Sai nodded with his awkward but what they had long realized was his sincere smile, "I am good at my job."

Kakashi shuddered remembering what it was like to have Sai as his guard. The man was indeed way too good at his job. Kakashi couldn't blame Naruto for sending Sai out on menial errands whenever he got the chance. That was what Kakashi had done every chance he had. "That you are."

"So… since I don't see anyone else here, you must be the reported disturbance Rokudaime? I half expected it to be Ugly."

Kakashi sighed and scratched the back of his head ignoring Sai's affectionate pet name for his now… girlfriend? Sai had indeed become closer to all of them, but his initial nicknames had all stuck, much to the disappointment of all who loved him. "I didn't realize that my being in front of the hospital was such a cataclysmic thing."

Sai tilted his head, confusion on his face and Kakashi couldn't help but let a small smile play over his masked lips. Sai had come a long way from when Kakashi had first met the ex-ROOT operative, but there were still some things that the man needed time to process and the same look always came over his face when he was thinking. It was almost endearing to see the cogs turn in Sai's head as he attempted to get a handle on human situations. "I don't think that it's such a novel thing. When you were still the Hokage I spent a lot of my time watching you here."

"A lot of your time eh?" Kakashi murmured wondering how many times during his three year reign he had come to see if Sakura was over working herself if Sai noted that being at this place was not out of character for him.

Sai nodded again, "You and Ugly were very close."

Kakashi sighed, "Did you think we were dating too?"

"Dating?"

"Uh yeah when uh… two people really like each other and spend a lot of time together."

Sai blinked, "Then of course you two were dating. I was practically Sakura's tail as much as I was yours Rokudaime." The look of processing hadn't even crossed Sai's face Kakashi realized. This wasn't something that Sai even had to think about, just something that he knew.

Kakashi chuckled as he approached the ex-ROOT member and now one of the most valued ANBU guards of the Hokage, "You're a good man Sai. And please stop calling me Rokudaime, just Kakashi is fine."

Sai tilted his head again, "Please stop causing disturbances in front of the hospital… Kakashi."

"I'll try," Kakashi muttered. Sai nodded and gave his awkward smile to the copy-nin before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi let out a slow breath as he turned toward the bench sitting outside the hospital and took a seat, his eyes tracing the path of footprints that he had practically hollowed into the ground from all of his pacing.

"You know…"

Kakashi nearly screamed in fright as Sai reappeared behind him out of the darkness. He had forgotten the kind of stealth Sai was capable of.

"You don't have to worry so much. I might not understand what dating is or why you seem so stressed about this dating, but I know that what you and Sakura already do together makes both of you… happy. It is easy to understand happiness when I look at you two," Sai spoke quietly into his ear, "I'm going to get back to Dickless now before he and Duck-butt destroy something."

Kakashi kept his senses on high alert as Sai once again disappeared just incase the artist decided to reappear behind him again and induce another heart attack, but it was useless; Sai had learnt how to mask his chakra better than any shinobi that Kakashi had ever encountered. You only knew he was there if he wanted you to know he was there. Good for a Hokage wanting the illusion of privacy, but unnerving when you knew that he was certainly watching.

Kakashi grunted as he leaned back on the bench and stared up at the late evening sky contemplating Sai's observations and words. Sai had an uncanny knack for being a wise old man precisely because he was still coming to grips with an emotional and loving world, but every time it happened, it still unnerved Kakashi to no end.

"Oh Sai! What are you doing here?"

Kakashi turned around and his eye twitched as he realized that once again the ANBU agent had eluded his senses and was standing at the hospital doors as Sakura came out and found Sai hovering at the doors waiting for her. Sai smiled at Sakura sincerely and stuck out his hand, his palm facing up. In a ritual that Kakashi had seen many times before, Sakura offered her hand back to the artist, placing it in his palm where his fingers would slowly close down around it. He pulled out his brush and stuck out his tongue, gently drawing something on her palm. Sakura giggled at the sensation of the bristles sliding masterfully against her skin and as Sai's brush disappeared back to his side, the ink creation that he had drawn on her burst to life. This time it was a bunny rabbit that raced all around them, leaving trails of ink before it nuzzled Sakura's calf and disappeared into the night air. Sai nodded at the delighted Sakura, the smile still on his face, before he vanished, hopefully for the last time.

Kakashi stared as Sakura turned towards him and smiled her brilliant, gorgeous smile, the hand Sai had just drawn on rising up and giving him a shy wave with her fingers. She wasn't in her normal red qipao, black obi, and medical coat, but instead it seemed like she had taken the time to get changed into something nicer, more civilian, for their date. The pleated, ocean blue skirt that she wore came to about mid thigh, her top was a golden rod yellow, long sleeved shirt with lace detailing, and her hair was half pulled up with some stray strands that she was now tucking delicately behind her ears.

Kakashi stood up and made his way to her, but when he found himself standing right in front of her, he had to search for the right words to say. "Hey," he opted for, a gentle murmur.

A light blush tinted her cheek as she looked up at him through her long eyelashes, "Hey."

"You look really nice," Kakashi murmured as he took both of her hands in his.

Sakura found herself looking at their entwined hands shyly, not being able to meet his eyes again as he squeezed his fingers gentle around hers, "Thanks. Ino wouldn't let up about it all of yesterday evening. First dates are special yadda-yadda so I thought why not?"

Kakashi chuckled at her sudden shyness. Now this was something new… and something he didn't mind one bit. "So she's come to terms with the fact that we haven't been dating for four years?"

Sakura snorted, "I think she's trying to fast track the process actually. It seems like there's a lot of money ridding on this bet."

"Sounds like her."

"Yeah," Sakura murmured as she squeezed Kakashi's fingers back.

A cough sounded and both of them looked up in surprise to see that the hospital doors had opened again and Genma was standing there with his left arm in a cast and shit eating grin on his face, "Hello love birds, you're blocking the door."

Sakura squeaked as she pulled herself and Kakashi to the side so they would no longer be in the way as Genma let out a low whistle and a hardy laugh as he stepped out of the hospital grinning at them. "We need to get a drink soon Hatake, heard you haven't been shagging our lovely Sakura for the past four years. That's hella disappointing! Have no idea how this hasn't come up in conversation. Maybe I was just assuming that you two were having hot sex in alleyways. This is why you never give people their privacy."

"Genma!" Sakura admonished, her fist clenching despite the fact that he was already injured and she had been the one to put him in that cast not long ago for his nearly shattered ulna.

Genma simply continued to grin, his senbon balanced between his teeth, "If Kakashi turns out to be terrible in the sack, come find me. I've always thought you were gorgeous but I also thought you had chosen this joker, maybe I'll have a chance now."

"In your dreams Shiranui," Sakura teased her tongue sticking out at him.

"Oh I'll definitely dream of it," Genma merely chuckled as he turned to Kakashi, "Seriously though, a drink. I wanna know how you two weren't dating." And with that the injured man trotted off whistling merrily, his senbon bouncing between his lips.

"Now tell me Sakura, did he get that from a mission or did one of his ladies finally have enough of him," Kakashi asked dryly as he watched his friend disappear down the street.

"Sadly he's too charming for one of them to murder him," Sakura sighed as she leaned against Kakashi's side and shook her head in exasperation. Contentment radiated into her through the warmth that he exuded and his arm immediately went to wrap around her waist.

"How was work otherwise?"

Sakura snapped her head up at him and grinned in excitement, "It was amazing! We got some documents in today from Tsunade and Shizune about the people and the conditions that they have encountered while travelling and from the contents I think that we'll be able to help some of our own patients that have been stuck here for so long finally get a chance to get out and about again through these new rehabilitation techniques including getting Gai-senpai out of his wheelchair and… oh I'm blabbering."

Kakashi chuckled as he watched Sakura's face glow the hot red of her usual attire, her green eyes sparkling as she looked at him. Kakashi found that he didn't have to think about what he was doing next as he leaned down and pressed his masked lips to her forehead, causing her to giggle in delight, "I don't mind. I want to hear more about it. Over dinner?"

Sakura nodded, "Dinner sounds great."

They had ended up grabbing dinner at a place that neither of them had been to before. It had been a small restaurant where most of the food was made for sharing and multiple dishes could be ordered per person. Sakura had detailed to Kakashi the contents of Tsunade's research and how it would be applicable in Konoha and he had nodded along although sometimes he found himself lost in all of the medical vocabulary and techniques that he was not privy to. What he did understand though was that maybe soon his friend would be challenging him endlessly again in competitions that had long fallen out of favour due to his injury. It made Kakashi feel both elated and nauseous just thinking about it.

They had shared a bottle of sake between them and were slightly buzzed, though barely even tispy when they left the restaurant. Sakura giggled as she held onto Kakashi's arm, "Everyone was staring so hard at your face. I still don't know how you manage to eat so fast."

"Practice makes perfect," Kakashi chuckled as he reached his fingers up to trace the edge of his mask, making sure that it in place.

Sakura stopped in her tracks, pulling Kakashi with her and reached up to gently touch his hand. He looked down to see her smiling at him, "I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at you underneath there."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Sakura laughed as she turned forward again and they continued walking down the road, "It just means that I feel really honoured to be the only one in Konoha to know what the great Hatake Kakashi looks like."

Kakashi rolled his eyes and chuckled, "It would also suck to have to keep up this façade as we are now dating. Kissing you through a mask, I feel, would be much less enjoyable." As he was expecting, Sakura's cheeks flared up and she looked at him expectantly.

"So you like kissing me?"

"You're fishing Sakura," Kakashi chuckled as she pouted at him, her bottom lip sticking out. She knew exactly what she was doing to him and he didn't mind it one bit. Since the first time they had kissed, they hadn't really stopped and although he was teasing her for being needy, he knew that he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.

"Oh, come on," Sakura harrumphed as she tugged on his arm and dragged him into the nearest dark alley.

"Scandalous Sakura. Did Genma's words give you some ideas?" Kakashi dawdled when she shoved him against the wall and pinned him there with the curves of her body and just a touch of chakra.

"Oh shush you insufferable man," Sakura murmured as she reached up and pulled down his mask in the cover of darkness and stretched up to the tip of her toes. Kakashi allowed her to struggle with her height a little bit, amused that with a hiss she opted to pepper small kisses on his chin instead, nipping his skin with annoyed teeth.

However, when she dived for his throat next, pulling his mask further down so that it stretched near his collarbone, he felt that maybe, just maybe, he had taken teasing her height a little too far. He should have known that Sakura would retaliate in the worst and best of ways; never was she one to back down. "Goddammit Sakura…"

When he let out a small moan, he could feel Sakura's lips curling against the skin of his throat in triumph as she sucked on his pulse and wrapped her arms around his neck, "What was that Kakashi?"

Kakashi grunted as he brought his hands to her hips and spun them around so that she was now the one trapped between the wall and him. Sakura immediately brought her hands to the sides of his face as he leaned down and gave her what she wanted, ravishing her lips as they continued to press up against each other in the dark alley, people walking by not knowing that their Rokudaime and Hospital Director were making out in the cover of darkness. His hands slid up and down her sides, feeling all of her curves as her fingers tangled into his hair as their lips continued to slant onto each others.

They both pulled back for a breath before they were on each other again, tongues touching and hands roaming as Kakashi's knee found its way between Sakura's legs.

With a sweep of his tongue, he moved his mouth down to her neck, biting and sucking gently like she had done to him just moments before. She brought one of her hands to her mouth to stifle her moans as he worshipped her and brought his hands down to squeeze her buttocks. Sakura squeaked at the touch, jumping and slamming herself into the wall, knocking her head ever so slightly against the brick and jarring both of them out of their reverie.

Kakashi chuckled at her muffled swearing. "Are you okay?"

She stared hazily into Kakashi's slate gray eyes, nodding shyly, as he pulled away to rest his forehead against hers. "That went farther than I was intending," Sakura murmured slowly as she realized that one of her hands had crawled up Kakashi's shirt to dig it's nails into his back while the other one was still thrown around his neck, pressing firmly into his shoulder blades and making sure that he was pressed up tightly against her.

Kakashi gave her a confident smirk as he squeezed her ass again and she squealed wriggling out of his grasp, "Don't play with fire Sakura," Kakashi grinned, loving that he once again had an avenue to tease her by. The sea wasn't close to Konoha, but he hoped that her butt would always be within reach.

Sakura smacked him playfully on the shoulder as she retracted her hands from his hot skin and he slid his hands back to her hips. He peppered soft sweet kisses on her cheeks and the bridge of her nose as Sakura giggled in happiness, tracing patterns on the back of his neck with her fingers. "I'm liking this dating thing," Sakura whispered into his ear.

Kakashi smiled, "Yeah, me too."

"Do you want to go for a walk in the park before heading home?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

* * *

Thank you so much to all of those who reviewed! I appreciate each and everyone of your kind words :).

 **Somber's Corner**

This... was a hard chapter to write, mainly because it wasn't initially in the original draft of my story. But I thought that we needed some cute datey stuff between the two of them and how they are just awkward, cutey pies. I hope you guys like it and that there aren't too many typos D:


	13. Act II, Scene II

Sorry this chapter is kind of absurdly short... but it's sweet? I hope?

* * *

 **Act II, Scene II:**

"Eggs for breakfast?" Sakura asked as she turned on the stove and pulled out a pan from Kakashi's cupboard.

Kakashi simply nodded from his place leaning against the doorframe as he watched Sakura scrape butter into the pan. Before she could ask, Kakashi had pushed himself away from the door and was opening the fridge to get the eggs for her. It was a habit she had, not getting the food before she actually needed it. It didn't surprise him really, how many of her habits he knew and how he compensated for them. Who knew what she did for him?

Sakura grinned at him as she took the carton out of his hands and popped it open, cracking three eggs into the pan and frying them just how he liked them. Kakashi got the bowls of rice and the ketchup and set them on the table. As soon as he had finished, Sakura passed him his plate of three eggs and then began frying her own.

Kakashi nimbly sat at the table and waited only a couple seconds before Sakura finished her own portion at the stove and she turned the knob with a click. She sat down in front of him with her own plate of eggs and immediately went for the ketchup on the table.

"What is your day at the hospital like today?" Kakashi asked as he shoveled some rice into his mouth.

"Well there are four planned surgeries, but of course there's always the chance that there will some emergency procedures that will have to be done. Some of the teams that you sent out should be coming back soon; it has been over a week. Other than that, I need to catch up on some of my filing, need to be meticulous!"

"You're always meticulous."

"Thank you."

Kakashi smiled as he used his chopsticks to break off a piece of fried egg, "And how are Naruto and Sasuke doing with being back?"

"Sasuke-kun is as unmoved as ever. I guess he's still riding that high from travelling during his one year of self banishment, but Naruto is definitely causing a ruckus."

"He's visited you… five times the last… three days?"

Sakura rolled her eyes as she stuffed a piece of egg into her mouth and inhaled it, "Yeah, he's wondering how fast we're moving but also doesn't want any details so…"

Kakashi chuckled, "I'm curious when everyone has their bets."

Sakura stared at him with the stink eye, "You know already don't you."

"Oh, yes."

Sakura snorted as she set her rice bowl down, "So… anyone looking likely to win?"

"I believe that it's too soon to tell," Kakashi teased, "Isn't it even too soon to say that we'll be getting married at all?"

Sakura simply rolled her eyes at him but her bright flush didn't go unnoticed, "Come on, at least tell me when shishou placed her bet."

Kakashi cocked an eyebrow at her obvious attempt to bury her mistake into the ground but let it pass because damn wasn't she pretty when she was embarrassed, "Oh you'll find this one hilarious."

"It wasn't today was it?"

"No… it was five days ago."

"Five days ago…" Sakura's eyebrows pulled together in thought, "Oh… when we started dating."

"Legendary sucker," Kakashi commended, "She's forfeited a fee though to place a second one, about six months from now. She's going to be disappointed when the news get's to her." Sakura simply laughed at the statement as she watched Kakashi stand up and take all of the bowls and plates away.

"You would think that she would put it later since there hasn't been an engagement announcement."

"I'm pretty sure she's convinced that we're going to elope."

"You would elope."

"I take insult to that."

"Really Kakashi, big parties have never been your kind of thing."

"Point taken."

Sakura turned in her chair to watch Kakashi wash the dishes, his shoulders bunching and relaxing as he cleaned the plates. "What are you up to today?"

Kakashi seemed to pause for a second before he said, "I'm going to see Naruto. He wants to send me on an S-class mission."

"Oh!"

Kakashi sighed, "I hope this doesn't…"

"Kakashi," Sakura sighed, "Just because we're uh… officially dating now doesn't mean that I'm going to expect you to change the way you operate your life. You've been dealing with my crazy schedule without fail after all," Sakura rubbed her forehead absent mindedly as she recalled the night that Kakashi had flicked her on the forehead for apologizing for being late after an emergency had caused her to work overtime, "And who am I to treat you any differently than you have me. We walked into this knowing exactly who the other person was and what they do. Of course I'm going to worry about you, but not anymore than I already do."

Kakashi smiled as he set the last bowl on the drying rack and washed the suds off of his hands. "I'll be seeing your face first thing when I return then?"

Sakura tilted her head, her pink hair falling over her eyes, "As always."

* * *

He had returned several days later, not any worse for wear and Sakura had dashed to his apartment as soon as she could. On the way she had picked up a couple groceries, knowing that he would be in want of a nice home cooked meal.

She walked into his apartment, turning the knob with no hesitation and dodged the mud that he had left in his entryway along with his stinking bedroll and discarded pack.

She could hear the sound of his shower in the background as she unpacked the groceries and began prepping them quickly on the counter. She was making a simple udon where most of the ingredients were pre-prepared and maybe it didn't taste as good as it could have, but speed was more of the essence.

Half way through chopping the vegetables, Sakura registered the presence of eight sets of eyes staring at her. She turned around slowly to see Kakashi's ninken ogling at her, drool dripping from their muzzles. Sakura laugh tinkled as she bent over to dig through her grocery bags, "Don't worry you guys, I have dinner for all of you too." The ninken chorused in glee as Sakura pulled out several boxes of restaurant left overs and opened them up in the living room so that the ninken could dine without the threat of her tripping over their feet.

Sakura was about to scoop the broth into the bowl of noodles when the shower turned off and she heard Kakashi riffling around in his bedroom. The door then creaked open as he emerged in just his boxers and a towel on his shoulders, part of which he was using to dry his hair. "Not too tired to eat at least a little I hope," Sakura chirped as she put down her ladle and turned to him, "Whoa!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her small jump when her eyes had met him, "What was that?"

Sakura giggled to herself as a blush crawled up her cheeks and down her neck. She looked up at him and grinned sheepishly, "That was new."

"What was?"

"Feeling hot and bothered at the sight of you."

Kakashi's eyebrow only sored higher as his lip quirked on one corner of his mouth, "I thought Ino said—"

"Oh forget what Ino said!" Sakura shouted in embarrassment as she placed the bowls of steaming hot udon on the kitchen table, "Just eat your dinner you ridiculous man."

Kakashi chuckled as he ambled over to his seat, purposefully flexing his arms as he dried his hair. He could only image that Sakura's blush was getting closer to the colour of her qipao rather than her hair as she stared at him. Of all the new things that their relationship was already bringing into their close dynamic, this was one of his favourites. If anything, he now felt slightly slighted that she had been so unfazed by his male physique before.

Kakashi jumped a little when he felt Sakura's hands on his shoulders. "Aren't you going to eat as well?"

He had to tense every muscle of his being to not shiver as her warmth breath caressed his neck, "Not before I check you for injuries." He stared at his food as hard as possible as he felt her chakra crawl into him, seeking any abnormalities and gently fixing them. He had never considered healing intimate before, and he was sure that if any other medic had done this, he would still not consider it so, but this was Sakura, so he felt like his skin was on fire, in the best way things could be on fire. "You're so tense Kakashi," Sakura whispered into his ear as she rubbed his shoulders and pressed the base of her hand into his sore muscles, causing him to groan. The sound of his voice seemed to have done something to Sakura, for she paused for a second before resuming her ministrations. "Your food is getting cold," Sakura said languidly.

"So is yours," Kakashi said aiming for suave and easy and probably coming off as anything but.

Suddenly Sakura's hands were no longer on his skin as she pulled out the other chair and sat herself in it, picking up the chopsticks in the same move, "You're right. Let's eat before you pass out."

Kakashi choked a bit, fighting down his growing arousal before he dug into his udon.

All of the ninken in the living room were jittery from all the sexual tension in the air.

True to tradition, Kakashi nearly passed out before making it to bed and Sakura simply washed the dishes to the sound of the man's quiet snores. Instead of following him into his bedroom right after, Sakura took a seat on his couch with his dogs and eased the tension out of their limbs, inquiring them about the mission. It wasn't exactly a surprise that Kakashi didn't wake up to Shiba's excited retelling of their adventure.

When it was time for bed, Sakura easily crawled into Kakashi's arms and he readjusted in his sleep to accommodate her. She held on to him tightly that night, having felt the emptiness of his lack of presence over the days he had been gone. She hadn't thought it possible, and she wouldn't let her stop him from doing what he did best because of it, but she had worried about him more than she had ever thought possible.

* * *

Thank you to all of those who reviewed last chapter!

 **Somber's Corner**

This may be the moment a lot of you have been waiting for... the next chapter is SMUT. TIS NSFW. You have been warned. It's pretty vanilla and dorky... for now.


	14. Act II, Scene III

I'm sorry this took so long, hopefully this satisfies some itches. WARNING: SMUT. Pst... btw... when did people stop saying lemons?

* * *

 **Act II, Scene III**

Kakashi woke up the next morning to the sight of Sakura's sleeping face, her eyelashes brushing against her cheek and her chest slowly rising and falling with each breath. He had woken up beside her many times before, before they had been a couple and during, but this time it felt different to him. The sun that shone on her face seemed to give her this glow that he couldn't quite affix on, and the way that her body moved in her sleep in his arms made his heart beat loudly in his ears.

When her breathing suddenly got more forceful and then her eyes opened, a smile immediately coming to her face when she saw his, he couldn't help the wave of emotion that over took his heart.

Kakashi leaned in quickly to capture her smile with a kiss and she murmured against his mouth nonsensical words of endearment, but he could barely listen for his lips left hers and began to graze down her jawline and toward her throat.

Rolling on her back, Sakura moaned as she felt Kakashi's tongue brush against her neck as his teeth gently nipped at the skin before his mouth moved on to her collarbone and the upper half of her breast.

Sakura ran her hands up Kakashi's arms as he supported his weight over her. He ran one of his hands over her hip to then slip it beneath her sleep top and slowly rolled the fabric up and away from her body. He paused before he fully divested her of her sleeping attire, "Is this okay?" he murmured, his voice muffled by the skin of her cheek.

Sakura responded by lifting her shoulders as his hand caressed the side of her breast, bringing the fabric up further. Her still hazy eyes met his as he pulled the top off and over her head and tossed it to the floor beside them, his head dipping down to taste her lips again using both of his hands as a brace over her exposed chest.

She curled into his touch as the cold air swept between them. Her hands slid along the tight skin of his shoulders to wrap around his neck and pull him closer to her. He grunted at the force she used as he collapsed down to his elbows and the cold air between them was pushed away. Her hands immediately rose higher to feel the soft hairs at the nape of his neck, tickling his heated skin.

The tips of her fingers flowed down and teased the skin along his spine as she guided her hands down his back, pushing minute amounts of chakra into his vertebrae, making him feel even more incredible than he already did from her delicate touch. It wasn't often that Sakura could be described as delicate, but when she was, she still shook worlds.

He brought his lips down and away from her mouth and continued his journey from her breast, between the valley and under the right mound. She shivered from his touch, her nails gently scratching his skin. He moved down again, on the right side of her navel, feeling the smoothness of her skin on his lips and her fingers pulling through his unruly hair. When he reached her hip and the edge of her shorts he paused for a moment to nip hard on her flesh causing her to jump ever so slightly beneath him and then moan as his hot mouth was replaced by the cool air around them as he lifted his head to come down again and nip harshly on her other hip. This time Sakura didn't jump, but she cried out in pleasure as he retraced his steps up, but this time on the left side of her body until his lips were once again down on hers.

The hazy seduction that was on his face was clear to her, but she couldn't fight it, didn't want to fight it as his fingers played at the edge of her shorts, asking for permission. The lift of her hips gave it to him as he pulled them off along with her underwear.

Sakura thought this whole arrangement unfair, with him still in his boxers. With a play of her own fingers on his defined hip bone, he shifted to allow her to pull down his boxers and then she used her feet to take them down the rest of the way where they could easily fall to the ground. Or at least that had been the intention. The boxers ended up wrapped around one of his ankles and they had to pause momentarily for him to shake his leg and fling them off, Sakura's laughter echoed in his room. With a frown as her giggles, Kakashi leaned down and nipped her on the collarbone. "Laughter isn't what a man wants to hear the first time he takes his pants off in front of a woman, Sakura." His voice was still deep from sleep.

"This is not the first time you have taken your pants off for me Kakashi," Sakura giggled as she grabbed his face and brought him up to her eye level, peppering kisses along the bridge of his nose.

"The first time I've tried to be sexy while doing so."

Sakura snorted, "You're always sexy."

A lop sided grin appeared on Kakashi's face, "You're a bad doctor Sakura."

"You're an even worse patient."

Kakashi simply grinned at her as he swooped down and captured her lips with his again. She immediately forgot what had been so funny.

The air around them was hot although the air in the room was cool as Kakashi slid his hand down her side again, feeling her curves until he gripped her thigh. Following his lead she hooked the leg around his hip as he pushed himself up and away from her with his other hand.

His one hand still clutching her thigh and the other sliding down her abdomen toward her hot sex, Sakura couldn't remember what was right and left or up and down anymore. Her chest heaved in need as she reached out her hands to splay cross his chest and feel the defined muscle. Faint scars littered the marred skin, but she thought them to be stories in his life, stories that she was privy to and stories that she hoped to someday hear.

His hand had paused on its travel to sweep gently over the scar of the sword that had once impaled her before the fall of Akatsuki's puppet master and then stopped again at the star like mark that indicated where Madara had stabbed her through in her hope to create an opening for Naruto and Sasuke. He didn't linger for long though and she wondered if he thought the same about her scars as she did his. His hand progressed until they were in her wet folds. She couldn't help the cry that came out of her mouth, a needy whine of his name as she felt him thumb her clitoris. His other hand clenched her thigh harder at the sound.

She curled her fingers inward, her nails scratching on his chest as he continued his deliberate and slow ministrations on her, watching her intently to see what made her squirm in pleasure and what made her pull away. He could read her expressions like a book and it didn't take long for him to discover what she liked and more importantly, what she didn't. Another groan came out of her lips as her hips bucked in wanton need for him to touch her more, to feel her more, as shivers coursed through her while a tightness began to develop in her core.

When she arched her back with pleasure, his length brushing against her sex in reaction and his hand tightening painfully but pleasurably on her thigh, she thought that she was losing herself trying to find anything to latch onto, eventually opting for the sheets beside her head. When her back touched the mattress again and the fog in her mind lifted, she used what was left of her energy to launch up and into Kakashi's lap feeling the vibrations of his groan against her lips as she kissed him and felt his length slide easily against her wet folds.

Gently she turned them so that he would be able to lie back down on his bed, his hands reluctant to let go of her hips. She placed her hands over his and as she slid down his body she guided his hands up her own and then swiftly into her hair all the while placing wet kisses all down his torso. Kakashi only realized her intentions as he felt the pink locks cascade like a waterfall between his finger tips, and then gripped hard as her warm mouth closed over the tip of his hot, throbbing length. His cock pulsated gently in her mouth at her ministrations and tugged even harder when she looked up at him with her green, green eyes. He couldn't help but grip her hair tightly, hoping that he wasn't hurting her when she bobbed her head and took him deeper into her mouth.

The tightness in his core dropped to his balls and he felt them want to contract in pleasure at the feeling of her soft lips sliding along his length, her tongue pressing to the underside of his cock, and the occasional tap of the head of his penis on the back of her throat. He thought of everything under sun that would allow him to not explode into her mouth right then and there. When he could think no more due to the hot sensation that was her gently taking the tip of his cock down her throat even further, he pulled her head away from his straining length, her lips parting with a pop, and dragged her body back over his.

The pink haired demon licked her lips and he felt his whole entire body tremble at the sight. His cock sprung between her legs, feeling that she was slick with want and need for him and he slid his hands down her spine, palms open as she slid her own hands over his forearms and biceps and shoulders. He kissed her hard, with every intention of setting his mark on her, of letting her know just how deeply she had penetrated him, his soul. She reciprocated in kind and Kakashi felt his heart thump in his chest.

The scent of her want flooded his nose and he flipped them around so that she was flat on her back. He wanted to get closer. The tip of his nose traced the gentle dip between her abs before his mouth closed down on her swollen clit, mimicking the movements his fingers had done before.

She arched at the sensation of his hot tongue gently massaging her clitoris as one hand went to his hair and the other went to the pillow beside her head. With a gentle pop he moved his mouth from her clit to her slick folds and lapped up the moisture that had gathered there. It didn't take long before she moaned, almost in agony, but more in pleasure as she bent her knees and forced his body to slide back up against her. His chest moved against her as both of her legs hooked around both sides of his hips, creating a tantalizing friction. Immediately her hands were at the back of his neck again as she brought his mouth in to kiss hers, tasting both him and the pleasure that he had evoked in her.

The tip of his hard cock pressed at her opening as she tried to wrap her legs tighter around him. Kakashi let out a breathy chuckle as Sakura whimpered beneath him, wanting him to fill her. Not one to ever deny Sakura her wishes, Kakashi raised himself up on one arm and guided himself into her slick, wet folds, glad to feel there was little resistance, that he had pleasured her enough before he had entered her.

Sakura felt herself stretching to accommodate him, the feeling alone causing waves of pleasure to roll over her. She stared at him as his face twisted in pleasure, wondering if she looked the same. A gentle sigh escaped her lips, this felt just so right.

Dropping back down to his elbows as soon as he was fully inside her, he began to thrust into her, slowly at first but when her hips jerked against his and her nails dug into the skin of his shoulders, he dipped his mouth into the crook of her neck and thrust harder and faster.

She met every one of his movements with her own, gripping him closer and tighter, sucking him in deeper until their hips became flush with each others with each thrust. The tightness in his balls quickly returned as he gauged how long he would have to last. He hoped it wasn't long, since he knew he couldn't take much more. Sakura's pants and moans, ringing in his ears were sending him off the edge faster than he had ever gone before.

Reaching down and hooking one of her legs into the crook of his elbow he sat up and angled himself differently, hooking her other leg with his other arm as he continued to pump into her harder and fasteer. Sakura cried out his name in ecstasy as she watched his hard cock slide in and out of her, her hands finding purchase on his powerful thighs as she pushed and pulled to increase the friction between the two of them. Kakashi watched the bounce of her breasts with each thrust he made and promised himself that he would give them more attention the next time.

When their eyes came to meet in the throws of their first passion with one another, green against slate gray, they both came in a haze. Kakashi allowed her legs to slip out of his grip as he nearly collapsed on her, their skin flush against each other again. He pistoned into her several more times, milking her orgasm as his faded, while she shook violently beneath him. Her hands eventually found his face and pulled him in for a deep kiss.

When he stopped, their sexes continued to throb against each other, causing the other to moan in pleasure until the sensations ceased.

Lifting his hand to push a damp lock of hair out of her face and kissing her softly on the lips, nose, and forehead, he murmured with the happiest of smiles, "Good morning."

She grinned back up at him, her eyes sparkling in the morning sun, "Good morning to you too."

* * *

Nails tapped on the table, a steady rhythm, loud and repeating. Sakura took a sip of her drink wondering how she had been so easily accosted during her lunch break. Kakashi hadn't been waiting for her outside the hospital like he had since they had begun dating, and sometimes even before that. He hadn't sent her a message saying that he had been caught up with something either. However, Sakura had a feeling that the blonde haired woman sitting in front of her with piercing blue eyes was part of the reason why. She just hoped that Ino had buried Kakashi down too deep. The nails continued to click on the table as Sakura sucked up the last of her drink, the noise of the last remaining liquid trying to crawl its way up, ringing in her ears.

Finally the silence broke, "Is that how you suck his dick too?"

Sakura spat out her drink, "Ino!"

"I heard you were late for your shift this morning."

"News travels fast," Sakura replied, feeling her traitorous cheeks heat up.

"That's because you haven't been late once since… well… since forever. He must have been good to convince you to let go of your flawless record."

"That's the problem with a flawless record, they're so easy to break."

"Just spill it Forehead! Give me all the details. We both know you were late because you were getting some early morning, hot, shameless loving and I wanna know everything," Ino hissed as she pressed herself closer to her best friend, "Don't you dare leave out a single detail because I want to know what Hatake Kakashi is all about. I've been waiting years for you to tell me-"

"Years where I wouldn't have been able to tell you anything Pig."

"And I expect all the gory details from moles on butts to cum faces."

Sakura laughed nervously as the eyes of the blonde in front of her flashed, Sakura was sure that even if she had tried to resist the intelligence division successor, the woman was sure to rip it out of her. "Well… there hasn't been any cum on faces… yet."

* * *

Thank you to all of those who reviewed!

 **Somber's Corner**

I hope that satisfied the itch for those who were waiting for this chapter... there's gonna be a lot of these kinds of chapters here on out cause... they do it like rabbits? Probably. And plus this kind of thing is fun to write. It's kind of vanilla for now, but it'll get more kinky and fun. As always, there is a warning the previous chapter for NSFW stuff in the next chapter and... here is your warning for next chapter! Get ready for some more shagging.


End file.
